The Third Kira
by Pengping
Summary: Kira - also known as Light Yagami - is dead. Yet, when another Shinigami becomes bored of the his world, he follows in Ryuk's footsteps and drops a DEATH NOTE to the human world where it is found by a girl named Raven. Raven decides that with the real Kira gone and his powers in her hands, why not continue his legacy and create the New World herself? Near disagrees with her.
1. A Black Notebook

Two months had passed since Kira's last killing. Authorities were saying that Kira had been found by the police, but had been unwilling to surrender and so was not captured alive. His name was apparently Light Yagami, a police officer in Japan. No information on how he killed people was ever given.

Those around the world who believed that Kira was the new god denied the claims. They said that Kira could not be killed and that he was simply resting – that his powers had been taxed and he would soon return.

Although officials applauded L for stopping Kira, others were frustrated. Not everyone believed that Kira was a god, but many believed that he was justice. He was doing what no one else could and killing those humans that had done such terrible crimes they did not deserve to live. Not a god, but someone with the right idea who was doing society a favor.

One of the many people that were part of the latter group was right now walking down the Miami boardwalk in the United States and enjoying her summer break. Her name was Raven Grayson. She had just finished up a late lunch at a pizza parlor and was heading to her favorite ice cream store for dessert.

The ice cream was within sight now. She shrugged her purse off her shoulder and zipped it open to reach for her wallet. As Raven did so, she turned her head slightly to look inside and saw movement on the beach. Curiously, she looked up. There was no one in the beach but two feet away, just off of the boardwalk, was a black notebook.

Raven looked around, but there was no one near it. Hadn't she just seen that drop to the ground? With a frown, she let go of her purse and walked over to the edge of the boardwalk. The black notebook was plain with the words DEATH NOTE written in white letters on the top of the book.

Now where had that come from? She ducked under the railing and hopped the few feet from the boards to the sand. What was even weirder was that there were no footprints near the notebook, so how could someone drop it?

Raven knelt down and touched the cover. A tingle shot through her arm as if she had just received an electrical shock. It was nothing like a normal static shock though. She clenched and unclenched the fingers of the hand as the tingle vanished. That was weird.

She shook it off and picked up the notebook again. There was not another zap. Raven assumed she had just imagined it and she opened the cover. Maybe there was a name in it…

The words before her surprised her: "DEATH NOTE: How to Use It"

She frowned. The words were in white boarded with more white on a black page. Above the words was a skull. Below those words were five bullet points, the rules presumably. Raven looked at the first of the "rules."

v The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

"D-die," Raven stuttered. What was this? Frowning, she almost put the book down. Then she saw one of the other lines.

v If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.

Her breath caught. She remembered Kira. Those Kira "passed judgment" on died of a heart attack. Raven chewed her lip and skimmed over the rest of the rules. The book slipped from between her fingers when she read one of those rules.

v This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

Many believed that Kira needed a name and face to kill a person. What was this thing? It sounded just like how Kira killed.

Raven took a breath. Calm down Raven, she told herself. This was probably just made by one of the fanatics of the Great God of Judgment, Kira of the New World. That would explain why the rules coincided with Kira's own killing methods. No doubt this was just that fanatic's way to explain Kira's powers.

That explained the design of the cover and the rules beyond. There was only the one page of rules with five rules on it. Beyond it was plain white sheet paper. The lines were black and wide-ruled. Nothing about them struck her as interesting. Likely, the fanatic hadn't been able to finish designing the rest of the pages before they dropped it.

Raven was tempted to leave the book there, but something about it seemed too interesting. She closed it instead and picked it up to carry with her. With the odd notebook now in her hands, she stepped back onto the boardwalk and resumed her walk to the ice cream parlor.

There was a jingle of a bell as she pushed the door open and the welcoming coolness of air conditioning. It made her smile. This was a smaller building and it was empty except for the staff. There were round tables and chairs scattered around an area. A huge counter took up half of the area and from it you could easily see the different ice cream flavors. On the wall behind it was a huge chalk board with the flavors and prices. Standing behind the counter with a bored look was a girl Raven's own age in uniform.

"Hi ya Rave," the girl behind the counter chimed. She waved. "You want the normal thing?"

"You bet Lily," Raven smiled. She shrugged off her purse to take out her wallet and slipped the black notebook into it.

Lily nodded and started getting Raven's normal order ready. A scoop each of butter pecan and chocolate marshmallow ice cream covered in chocolate syrup, sprinkles, whip cream, and a maraschino cherry in a bowl. "Here you go," Lily set the bowl with a spoon on the counter and Raven gave her credit card.

Lily tapped on the register so she could swipe it. "So Rave, looking forward to next year? It will be our last." She swiped the card.

"Oh yes," Raven replied sarcastically as she tapped in her PIN number so the payment would go through. "My senior year in high school, how exciting."

Lily smiled as the receipt printed and she tore it off and gave it to Raven. Raven nodded to her classmate and took her ice cream to her usual window seat.

A small TV was in the parlor playing on the news station. It was muted, but there were captions on it. Raven sat down and ate the cherry. Then she mixed up the two flavors of ice cream with the condiments.

Relaxing, she started eating. It cooled her off. With a smile, she set her purse on the table and reached inside for her wallet to put her credit card back. Her fingers brushed against the black notebook in her action and it made Raven pause.

Slowly, she took it and her wallet out and set them on the table next to her. Raven replaced the credit card and the wallet back into her purse. Then she turned her attention to the notebook titled DEATH NOTE. It looked perfectly normal.

While she ate, she opened the book to the rules. The name of the person will write in here will die and if you write the cause of death in the next 40 seconds and details about the death in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds, the person will die as specified. If nothing is specified they will die of a heart attack. You have to think of the person's face as you write their name for this to work.

The rules were straightforward enough and the fanatic that had written them had clearly thought about it. Yet, the more Raven looked at those rules the more tempted she was to test them out. She would not be the first or last to think that there was something about the DEATH NOTE that encouraged people to try it at least once. Raven reached inside of her purse for a pen.

Whose name should she write? On the off chance that this was how Kira killed people and it was real then she should use a criminal's name and make it a heart attack victim. That way, everyone would think that Kira had killed them. It would drive the authorities crazy and if it wasn't then it wasn't.

Raven glanced over at the TV. A picture of four people was being shown on TV. Their names were under the pictures. "Hey Lily, can you unmute the TV? There's something going on."

Lily looked at her and then the TV. "Give me a minute," Lily warned. She ducked under the counter and Raven could hear her rustling things around. Then she stood up with the remote and hit unmute. The volume was very quiet and she turned it up.

Gradually, the news anchor's voice could be heard. "…police have them cornered. Johnathan Miles, Mark Forrest, Anthony Rogers, and Caleb Grant are corned at long last in an abandoned warehouse by the harbor. A furious gunfight is going on between officers and these criminals in order to capture them. These three have been charged guilty of murder, arson, drug running, and kidnapping."

Lily set the remote down and leaned on the counter. "Looks like Kira's got some new targets. I hope he take care of them."

"Lily," Raven sighed as she twirled the pen around. Her purse was between the notebook and the counter so Lily couldn't see it. "Kira – Light rather – is dead."

"There's no way that's true," Lily scowled. "Kira is a god, you can't kill a god."

Raven sighed and looked back at the TV. Lily was one of those fanatics Raven had been thinking about earlier. In fact, Lily was pretty creative. She could easily see her classmate coming up with this entire DEATH NOTE thing as her way to prove Kira was real. Maybe I'll test it first and then ask her.

"The three criminals have sufficient cover and ammunition," the news anchor said as the screen cut back to her. "They are having enough trouble that they cannot breach the criminals. Kira, if you can hear me, these officers are in need of help."

"Come on Kira," Lily rooted on quietly, "take them out."

Raven smiled as she started writing down all four of the criminal's names while she pictured their faces one by one. All she wrote down were their names. That was all she needed to do, right? She put her pen down once she finished and looked at the clock on the wall. It was a little past 2:43 pm.

The news reporter continued to speak about the four of the criminals as Raven counted down the seconds. 23, 24, 25, she counted. Will this really work? 36, 37, 38, 39, 40…

The news anchor didn't change his tone. There was no sudden report about the group's death. Raven waited a few seconds more but there was still nothing. It was as she expected nothing more than some fanatic's idea to explain Kira.

She might as well ask Lily if she wanted the notebook. "Hey Lily," she started to ask.

The door opened at that exact moment and the bell jingled loudly. A large group of five people, a gaggle of friends likely, walked in.

Lily glanced at Raven, but Raven shook her head. It was alright, she'd ask Lily about the notebook later. Instead she finished up her ice cream and replaced the DEATH NOTE back into her purse. She threw away her plastic and paper items away and left to let Lily deal with the crowd.

There were still quite a few hours of the day left and since she had just eaten, Raven decided to skip the amusement park and go change into the bikini in her purse to try and work on her tan.

* * *

 **Here is another DEATH NOTE in the human world. This takes place after the end of the anime with Light Yagami dead. I wonder, how will Raven use the powers of the DEATH NOTE?**


	2. The Return of the DEATH NOTE

Raven had nearly forgotten about the black notebook the next day as she poured maple syrup on her waffles for breakfast. She was just about to start cutting them up when her mother walked into the kitchen. Her nose was in today's newspaper.

"Raven," her mother set the paper on the table. "Look at today's front page."

Raven paused mid-cut and glanced over. The headline made her blink. 'KIRA RETURNS?'

"What," she whispered. She set her silverware down and snatched up the newspaper. _'Yesterday, authorities received divine support from Kira in a case concerning four criminals: Johnathan Miles, Mark Forrest, Anthony Rogers, and Caleb Grant.'_

Raven stopped reading and felt a jolt. Those were, those were the four whose names I wrote in the notebook! Hurriedly, she continued.

 _'Shortly after a broadcast announcing their identities, all four criminals died. Forensics now prove that they had heart attacks. Time of death was near 2:40 pm yesterday afternoon. Has Kira returned? Is he once more passing judgement to those deserving of it?'_

Raven set the paper down with a shaking hand and looked at her breakfast. I only wrote the names of those four in the DEATH NOTE and according to its rules; they would have all died of heart attacks 40 seconds later. That's what happened.

There is no way. That can't be real. Raven tried to think logically. The chances that their deaths and the circumstances were all a coincidence were improbable. So either I killed them with by writing their names in a notebook or Kira has come back from the dead and did it at the same time that I did. It was hard to tell which was more likely.

The easiest way to tell was to just do it again. Kira kills with a heart attack and if I can kill anyone in any way possible then I should kill someone in another way. If I am doing this then I had better use another criminal.

"Hey mom," Raven said, "I just remembered I'm supposed to call Lily. I'll just eat in my room."

Her mother had her nose in the refrigerator as she reached for ingredients to make an omelet, "all right dear."

Raven picked up her plate, silverware, apple juice, and trooped upstairs. She set her stuff down on her table and then closed the door. After a hesitant moment, she locked it. The light in her room was off and it was dark in there despite it being in the early morning. Fat gray storm clouds hung in the sky, promising a rainy day.

She sighed and sat on her bed. After another moment she picked up her purse and unzipped it. Gently, as if it would bite, she withdrew the notebook tiled DEATH NOTE. Other than its obvious creativity, nothing stood out about it. When she opened to the first page, all four of the criminal's names were written in it.

Because of Kira, lists of prison inmates had become very easy to access. Raven walked past her food and sat at her computer desk. There were three monitors lined up side by side. She used one to look up a list of such inmates. Just in case it was Kira who had killed those four, Raven decided that the criminal she killed had better be one that Kira would approve of. One of them named Alexander Wolff caught her eye – he had been found guilty of rape and murder of a seventeen year old girl. He would do nicely.

Raven wrote his name down first and then wrote 'suicide' after that. Hm, what should she write for the details of death? She smiled as an idea struck her and she quickly filled in another sentence. If the inmate actually did that then there would be no doubt that the DEATH NOTE worked.

However, even it would likely until tomorrow before she heard reports if her experiment was a success. Raven closed the DEATH NOTE for now and put it in one of her drawers under some other papers so it was half-hidden. She stood and returned to her breakfast.

* * *

 _The Shinigami Realm_

Everything here was so dead. The world was only made of lifeless desert with bone and stone structures. Shinigami gathered around and gambled without anything else to do. It was easy to understand why Ryuk had dropped the DEATH NOTE onto the human realm.

Ryuk had spent six years in that realm though waiting for Light Yagami, the one who found it, to die. Even now that he was back, he still looked to the human world he had learned so much from and found so much to his enjoyment. He remained in a cave now, thrown into exile by his Shinigami kin.

The skeleton Shinigami that flew through the air knew all of that. It had gone and spoken to Ryuk and that was the reason why he had swindled a second DEATH NOTE from the Shinigami King and then dropped it in the human world with the same five rules that Ryuk had written on his.

Ryuk had not even gotten to finish his story about Light Yagami. He had only gotten to the part to where the detective, L, died. That was all the skeleton Shinigami needed to hear. If he found a human who was half as interesting then the consequences would be well worth it.

He knew for a matter of fact that his second DEATH NOTE had been claimed – and used.

"Moon!"

The skeleton Shinigami glanced back without missing a wingbeat. He recognized Sidoh flying behind him. Moon sighed and shook his head. Technically, he needed only fly a few minutes more and then he could walk down the staircase and jump into the human realm to check in on the DEATH NOTE. Knowing Sidoh, he'd go whining that Moon had gone to the human realm if he knew. It would be better to shoo Sidoh away before he went any farther.

Moon stopped flying and turned around to face Sidoh, hovering in place. "What do you want, Sidoh?"

"Where are you going?" Sidoh asked, "This way leads to the portal to the human realm."

Moon didn't remember Sidoh being so smart before. He looked at the cloaked Shinigami. It's very large and round head was covered with bandages like a mummy and his yellow cat eyes bored into Moon. All Moon did was smile. "There are plenty more things this way to. Like I said, what do you want?"

"Where's your notebook?" Sidoh asked in his normal whiny tone of voice.

"My what?" Moon gave him a bizarre look. "Why do care? You know what, mine's right here." He reached into his messenger bag and withdrew his DEATH NOTE. "What, did you lose yours again?"

"I didn't lose mine last time," Sidoh whined. "Ryuk stole it and dropped it in the human realm."

"Well you have it back, right?" Moon asked as he tucked his DEATH NOTE out of sight. He didn't give Sidoh a chance to respond. "So get lost right now." Threateningly, he reached up over his shoulder to where his bone weapon was – similar to a hammer – was slung.

As usual, the threat was enough to get Sidoh to back down. "All right, all right, I'm going."

Moon waited until Sidoh was flying away before he tucked in his wings and landed in front of the entrance that led to the portal. What a pest. That was one Shinigami he was sure no one would miss. Oh well.

He pushed the delay out of his mind and started walking down the staircase that led to the portal to the human world. Ahead was the portal. It was like a giant hole in the floor. Well, let's see if the one who found the DEATH NOTE is any interesting.

Moon took a step back and then dived into the portal headfirst.

* * *

 _Human World_

Raven looked up in surprise when she heard thunder. The gray clouds outside had gotten even darker. It was clear that the predicted rain would indeed strike. So she was going to be stuck inside her room. Oh well. She simply turned on one of her monitors and opened her video game, _World of Warcraft_ , to kill some time.

She had just logged in and was about to put on her headphones so she could listen to the music when a voice behind her asked, "So you are the one with the DEATH NOTE."

Raven jumped and spun around. She froze, eyes wide, at the sight that greeted her. Standing in her room was a skeleton about two meters tall. He was dressed in a coat with a pair of goggles on his skeletal forehead above empty eye sockets that glowed red. Behind his goggles, spiky brown hair was tied back with a red strip of cloth which must be some sort of headband. A messenger bag was slung over one shoulder across his chest. His mouth was wide and his lower jaw seemed to be turned upward as if in a perpetual grin.

Her hands on the headphones started trembling and her throat seemed dry. She was unable to move her lips, let alone scream. Then suddenly she surprised herself with a scream and threw her wireless headphones.

They passed through the skeleton without any effect and clattered to the ground past him. Raven stood sharply and backed up against her computer desk. She looked terrified.

The skeleton sighed. "I was going to say don't scream. As you just saw, there is nothing in the human world that can hurt me, and since you are the only one that can see or hear me, screaming for help doesn't work well."

The human girl didn't move. She just watched, eyes wide, still in shock.

How did Ruyk do this with Light? "My name is Moon," the skeleton introduced. "I am a Shinigami."

"R-R-Raven," Raven stuttered.

Okay, Moon thought, she can talk. That's a start. "I believe you found something of interest to me."

Without moving her eyes from the shocking sight of a talking skeleton, Raven pulled open the desk drawer and took out the black notebook she had found. "You mean this, don't you? The DEATH NOTE."

"That's it," Moon nodded. "You've used it to."

"Twice," Raven set the notebook next to her keyboard. She took a deep breath. As far as she knew, she hadn't fallen asleep at the computer so this was real. If it was real, then she better wake up herself. "If you are here then I guess this book really works. What's a Shinigami?"

"A Japanese God of Death," Moon looked at her. "You're not going to scream again."

Raven swallowed, "I-I, probably not."

"Probably," Moon tilted his head to look at her, "Interesting."

Raven shrugged. "I mean, after everything with Kira I guess anything seems possible. Kira was Light Yagami, wasn't he?" She looked down at the cover and at the words in white on it. "Kira had one of these, didn't he? This was his power."

"Yes, and he is dead," Moon agreed. "He was defeated by Near." The Shinigami clenched a hand in anger, though Raven couldn't imagine why it bothered him.

"Near?" Raven frowned. "I thought it was L who was hunting him."

"Kira managed to kill L," Moon detailed, "Near is L's heir and nothing more than a boy who's busy playing with his toys."

Raven didn't really understand, and she held out the DEATH NOTE to her skeleton visitor. "So am I in trouble for using this?"

"Not at all," Moon waved away her offer. "It is not mine anymore."

Raven hesitated, "what?"

"The instant the DEATH NOTE touched the ground it became the property of the human world," Moon shrugged. "You picked it up so you now own it. It's yours."

"Mine," Raven whispered. "So if this works, then that other inmate should be dead by now."

Thoughtful, Raven pulled her chair back over and sat down. She faced the computer screens and set the DEATH NOTE next to the keyboard. Then she reached over for the wireless mouse and turned on a second of her computer monitors, bringing up a program.

"What are you doing?" Moon asked. He took a step forward curiously.

Raven glanced at her third computer screen, still powered down. She couldn't see Moon's reflection in it. "I'm going to hack into the prison's security system so I can see about the convict. I made him write something before he died and I want to see if he actually did it."

Moon frowned. "You can hack?"

Raven smiled as several boxes of coding popped up onto the screen. "I don't know much about Kira or Near or L, but I bet all of them were good detectives. They're skills would lie in making conclusions from minimal evidence, picking out the right criminal, and being able to anticipate and take into consideration the other one's thoughts and actions, all that psychological stuff. I can't do that. That's why I don't read detective novels; I have zero skill in that area. In fact, I think I have negative skill."

The boxes of code vanished and before her lay the prison's website. "Computers though, I can do. Besides, this place has Gameboy level security."

Moon leaned closer. He was intrigued. It appeared that her skills were very different from Light Yagami's. What effect would that diversity have?

"He's dead," Raven said. She was smiling. "He's really dead. Suicide! Ah, it doesn't say if he wrote it."

Moon read the prison's report while Raven opened the notebook. "See," Raven slid it over to him as she started typing again. Sure enough, she had wrote something special about Alexander Wolff's suicide.

"He's in cell block D, cell 22, and here's the security footage," Raven hit enter and then leaned back triumphantly. "This is live," she waved at the screen.

Moon looked up from reading to the monitor. There were two officials standing in a cell, looking at the wall. Off to one side, you could just barely see Alexander Wolff's body, still hanging in midair from where he had hung himself. It was what the two officials were looking at that made Moon stare. Written on the wall, likely in the convict's own blood, were the words: 'KIRA LIVES.'

"Alexander Wolff," Raven said, quoting what she had written in the DEATH NOTE. "Suicide. Hangs himself at the soonest opportunity after writing the words 'KIRA LIVES' on the wall of his cell in his own blood."

"Creative," Moon muttered. He straightened and looked carefully at Raven. Her skill set was different from Light's but there was a similar look of satisfaction in her eyes.

Thunder boomed and lightning crackled across the sky again, illuminating Raven's room. Fat raindrops began to fall from the sky. It started as a light rain that grew steady heavier until sheets of drenching rain poured across the sky.

Raven slowly looked from her window, to Moon, and then to the computer screen where the image of the words 'KIRA LIVES' still were. Moon lapsed into silence. He could tell Raven was thinking everything over and he didn't want to interrupt her. Besides, he could tell that Raven would come to a similar conclusion that Light Yagami had when he had been confronted with the same choice.

A few strands of Raven's long black hair fell in front of her face. Another clash of lightning illuminated not just the purple and blue highlights in them, but something in her eyes.

"Well Moon," Raven said at last. "Since it seems I'm not going to the beach today, I might as well hear what you have to say."

Raven raised her head to squarely meet Moon's glowing red eyes. "Tell me more about the DEATH NOTE."

* * *

 **i'm getting ready to go to college in a month so i don't know how constantly i'll be able to do updates until i settle into the new dorm, so i might not be doing them on time.**

 **Moon is the nameless Shinigami form the _Relight: Visions of a God_ TV Special. This entire story is because of that special. I felt like after the end of that special, the Shinigami was going to do something so i decided to write something for him. **

**As for Raven, what do you think she's going to do with the DEATH NOTE and how is she going to handle Near? She's said herself that she's no good with the mind games the original DEATH NOTE arc was famous for.**


	3. Hello Near

"I'm going to get a snack; you might as well stay here," Raven told the Shinigami sulking in her room as she took her empty dishes downstairs.

Moon shrugged and sat on her bed nonchalantly.

Raven unlocked her door and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Truthfully, she was surprised that Moon was doing what she said. The delicious smell of one of her mother's omelets wafted to her. Her mother was bustling around, making breakfast.

"Do you want one dear?" Her mother asked as she chopped some chives.

"I already ate, thanks," Raven said. She opened the pantry door and took out a bag of potato chips. They were just the original flavor. Beside them was a bag of barbecue flavored ones that her mother liked. How someone could eat those things Raven would never guess.

Her mother frowned when she saw the chips, but Raven retreated upstairs before she could say something like how Raven should eat less and watch her figure. It really wasn't a problem for Raven. Unlike most girls – including her friend Lily, she didn't try to starve herself. Raven actually wanted to put on a few pounds, but her hyperactive metabolism usually didn't let her. She could eat whatever she wanted though, so Raven supposed she didn't mind too much.

When she got back to her room and locked her door, she found that the headphones she had thrown at her new Shinigami _friend_ were back on her desk and Moon was staring out her big bay window. Without saying a word, she put the headphones back on a drawer and opened the chip bag. The sound of the bag being torn open made the Shinigami look her way.

"Are those potato chips?" Moon asked.

Raven took a chip and set the rest on her desk, safely away from her keyboard. "Yes… Do you like chips?"

Moon nodded. He walked over and took one, eating it gratefully. "The Shinigami World doesn't have anything like these. Do you have any apples?"

Raven rested her head on one hand as she looked at him curiously. "Are all Shinigami as hungry as you?"

Moon looked away. "Shinigami are already dead, so we don't need to eat and there's nothing worthwhile to eat in our world anyway."

"So you have been to the human world before," Raven smiled.

Moon paused as he reached for another chip. Rats. He was losing his touch. "Shinigami usually just look to the human world. The only way we can stay here for any length of time is if we've possessed a human who has a DEATH NOTE we dropped. Actually, I can't leave your world until you die, the DEATH NOTE is destroyed, or you give me back custody of the book. Otherwise, we can only stay in this world for 82 hours at a time."

Raven realized that Moon hadn't given her a straight answer. It was still obvious that Moon had been to Earth before. The phone in her room rang suddenly, spooking Raven. She jumped and then glared at it. The caller ID said it was Abigail North, a friend of the family. Her mother answered it before she could.

She sighed. "All right, Shinigami, you've filled me in about the DEATH NOTE, could you tell me more about the Kira case?"

* * *

Raven munched her chips as Moon had finished filling in a few details about the Kira case that had not been made public. "So let me make sure I have this right," Raven said carefully. "The first Kira, Light Yagami, is dead. The second Kira is someone named Misa Amani and she lost all memory of the DEATH NOTE's existence when she gave up ownership of it, so she might as well be dead."

"As for the detectives in the Kira case," Raven continued, "L was killed by Light Yagami. After that, another detective called Near joined the case. Near defeated Light Yagami which ended in Light's death. Near, the FBI task force with him, and the Japanese Taskforce know everything there is to know about the DEATH NOTE and the Shinigami. Hm, I suppose that makes things interesting."

Moon chuckled at her definition of interesting. It also sounded like she was seriously considering using the DEATH NOTE. That was good. "So, are interested in the eye deal?"

"Trading half my remaining life span so I can get the eyes of a Shinigami?" Raven asked. "No, I'd just as soon not lose that much of my life. Being able to see a person's name by looking at their face would make things easier, but I think I can manage."

Moon admired her self-determination. "How will you manage Near? When he finds out about this, he'll start hunting you."

"I don't suppose you could just write his name in your DEATH NOTE for me?" Raven asked sweetly.

Moon tilted his head. "Now where's the fun in that? I'm here because I'm bored. I'm not on your side."

Raven sighed, "I thought so." She turned her chair back to her computer monitors and started opening up a program in one of the monitors after wiping the chip grease off her fingers with a napkin.

"Now what are you doing?" Moon asked as he snuck another chip. He hated always having to ask, but he just didn't understand this computer nonsense.

"I'm going to say hello to Near," Raven smiled. She reached into a drawer and took out a Bluetooth and clipped it onto her ear with one hand as she continued to work on the program with her other hand on the mouse.

Moon hesitated for a moment. "You're what?"

"Raven!" Her mother's voice called up, interrupting what Raven had been about to say.

Raven paused and then shouted back, "yeah mom?"

"I'm going to go over to Abagail's! I should be back by lunch!"

"All right mom!" Raven answered cheerfully. That worked perfectly. Now she would be able to speak to Near without risking her mom overhearing.

She waited until she heard the sound of the car engine starting and her mom driving away before she looked back to Moon. "As I was trying to say, I'm going to use a trick from World War 2."

Moon gave her a blank look, so Raven exemplified. "During World War 2, there was this really bad dictator named Adolf Hitler. He killed twelve million innocents. Believe me, he wasn't missed. He was so bad that some of his German citizens tried to kill him. They actually tried several times but one of the best ones was called _Operation: Valkyrie_. They blew up the building Hitler was in and a lot of people thought he was dead. In order to assure his people he wasn't, Hitler went onto the airwaves and spoke to them himself."

Moon nodded. Now he understood. "Many people believe that Kira is dead and you're going to make them think you're not by speaking on the airwaves. So you are going to become the next Kira."

Raven stopped moving her mouse. She looked down at the keyboard. "I didn't really think about it but yeah. I'm not a god. I'm human and all humans die eventually. I will to. That doesn't mean that Light had the wrong idea. There are a lot of bad people in the world and the goal of creating a new world is a just one. I don't see why I can't become the third Kira."

Moon smiled, teeth clicking quietly. She doesn't have a god complex – yet, that was odd. I wonder exactly what she does.

Raven reached for a remote near her computer monitors and turned on the TV. "All right Moon, watch the TV." She tapped a few keys on the keyboard and then clicked something on the screen.

Moon looked curiously on the TV. The video of a news station suddenly cut away and was replaced by a white screen. In swirling black script was the word 'kira.' After a few seconds the screen vanished and the news anchor resumed.

"That's it?" Moon frowned. "Not much of a message."

"That because that wasn't the message," Raven snapped. "I was just testing out my system and making sure the scattershot worked."

"Scatterwhat?" Moon asked in a dazed voice.

Raven sighed. "I don't know what's it officially called, but it takes a broadcasting signal and scatters it. It makes it impossible to track down the location of the transmissions source. Look at the computer monitor."

Moon complied. There was a picture of a blue sphere on one on a background of black. Scattered above and around the sphere were yellow dots and a web of red lines connected those dots.

"That blue sphere is the Earth, the yellow dots are the communication satellites in orbit, and the red lines are the transmissions that pass between them," Raven explained in a somewhat mollifying voice. "When someone sends a transmission, the signal is beamed up to one satellite and then broadcasted to the other ones. If you want to find the source of a transmission then you simply look at the satellite it was broadcasted to and that gives you a general location. The FBI can easily pinpoint the location to a single address from that."

"The FBI are at Near's disposal," Moon muttered. "Didn't sending that transmission just now endanger you?"

"I was using the scattershot program," Raven smiled. "It essentially scatters the signal throughout every single communication satellite and makes it impossible to pinpoint my location. That few seconds image was the test signal. The program works fine so now I get to send the real message."

Raven turned on the Bluetooth and opened a program on the second monitor. "This is a voice scrambler," she said before Moon could ask. "It will disguise my voice so I should sound just like the first Kira."

Moon noticed that a third program had on another monitor had been activated. "What's that other program?" Moon looked at that screen.

"Wait and see," Raven smiled.

Moon waved a hand, inviting her to start speaking.

Raven turned on her programs and cleared her throat. Moon glanced at the TV as the news reporter was once again cut off. The same screen appeared as last time.

"I am Kira," Raven said slowly. Sure enough, her voice sounded just like Kira's. "I speak to you now, so you may hear my voice and know that I am alive." Raven pulled her DEATH NOTE closer and wrote two names in it. "In order to prove to you who I am, I have just killed two prisoners. Their names are Justin Wild and Ernie Mendez. Both of them were found guilty of various counts of murder."

"I thank all of you out there who believe in me," Raven continued. "Your support of me has allowed me to recover faster than I would have otherwise. I promise you all that my mission has not changed. I will create a new world free of injustice and criminals with your help."

She quickly got into the mindset of her character and stood from her chair and started pacing around the room and waving her hands to accent her words. Moon sat on Raven's bed. It seemed he was going to get a show with the announcement.

"Many of you have heard about the death of Light Yagami," Raven increased her pacing as she spoke. "He was not Kira. He was an ally of mine who was slaughtered for helping me. I gave him some of my power so he could aid me and his death and the loss of the power I gave him weakened me for some time. That is why I have been resting and not passing judgment to those who deserve it. My power has now returned."

Moon started laughing. In one fell swoop, Raven had not only explained Light Yagami, but the break in Kira's killing. She might just make this entertaining for me yet.

"Now to the one who killed Light Yagami," Raven smiled. This was actually kind of fun playing the deranged god. "Hello Near."

Standing in a crosswalk in New York City, a boy with curly white hair who was watching the announcement on one of the monitors narrowed his eyes. Me, Near thought, Kira's addressing me. How does he even know about me? No, what is going on? Light Yagami was Kira and now he's dead, so who is this?

"Near," Raven continued. "You are responsible for the death of one of my closest allies. I will not allow you to get away with that. You do not only stand in my way Near, you stand in the way of all of the people who deserve this new world. They are the ones that you are harming in your unneeded fight against me."

Unneeded? Near narrowed his grey eyes. This imposter was clearly just as arrogant as the old Kira.

"I will not forgive you, not just for the death of Light Yagami, but for denying the people the new world that they rightly deserve," Raven slashed a hand thorough the air sharply. "For standing in the way of the people, Near, I will find your identity and I will kill you just as you killed Light Yagami. So go on Near, catch me if you can, before I catch you. For the new world."

Raven reached up and turned off the Bluetooth. The signal on the TV cut out and was replaced by the news station. The news anchor sitting there was just staring, clearly in shock from her transmission.

She took the Bluetooth out of her ear and picked up the TV remote. With a smile, she turned the TV off. Then Raven started laughing.

Moon covered his face with one hand, bone fingers splayed. One of his red eyes peered out from a gap between the fingers. He waited until Raven finished laughing and had shut down her scattershot and voice distortion programs before speaking. "Do you know what the word 'subtle' means?"

Raven frowned, "Fine or delicate in meaning, making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something, cunning, wily, or crafty. Take your pick of definitions."

Moon lowered his hand to glare at her.

Raven shrugged and looked back at the computer screens.

"Why did you goad him on?" Moon asked after taking a second to calm himself. "Unlike you, Near knows how to be subtle."

Raven turned around to glare back at the Shinigami. "I wasn't _trying_ to be subtle. I want to goad a response out of Near."

"Why?" Moon demanded. "Are you trying to get caught? This won't be any fun if you get caught right away." He took the bag of potato chips and started eating a few.

Raven sighed and pointed at the third monitor, the one with a program still on it. "You remember asking about this program? This is a tracking program. If Near responds over the airwaves this will narrow down his location."

She snatched the bag of chips back. "Once I figure out what building he's in, I can tap into its security system just like I did with the prison. Then I tap into it, and bring up the video and find Near. You said he was a boy who plays with toys, right? Using that information I might be able to get a picture of him." Raven spoke with as much patience as she could muster. "When I get a face, I can run it through my facial recognition program and try to find some more information about him. If his real name is in cyberspace, I'll find it."

Moon glared at her for taking his snack. Then his glare dissolved into a more thoughtful look. "It seems I underestimated you, but I don't believe that Near is foolish enough to respond."

"True," Raven admitted, "but Near doesn't know that I'm good with computers. He'll probably come to the same conclusion that you did that I was acting foolish and will underestimate me. Underestimating your opponent is the first step that leads to the road of your defeat."

Moon chuckled. "Well, you are full of surprises. That little acting was just one side it seems."

"Hey," Raven said with a cocky smile. "I'm not just a computer nerd. I also take theater classes and I love them. Acting is just as much fun for me as hacking."

Moon leaned back on her bed. "Well, certainly a different approach then Light Yagami took, but an interesting one. I wish you the best of luck though I won't interfere on your behalf to either help or hinder you."

Raven smiled and chuckled, "finishing Light's work wouldn't be any fun if you did."

* * *

 **I'm afraid subtly and Raven don't really go into the same sentence although she has a good idea. She just doesn't understand all of this detective stuff. Moon likes potato chips!**

 **I don't want to get anyone mad at me, so i will mention that i do not approve of Hitler. I'm just using an example and making a subtle comparison between Raven and Hitler. You really should watch Operation: Valkyrie, it's based on that real story and it's really good. There were over a dozen attempts on Hitler's life but they weren't broadcasted by the US because the US didn't want there to be any sympathy towards any of the German people.**


	4. Nearsighted

The FBI headquarters was abuzz. They had all thought that the Kira case was closed, but it seemed that was wrong. Near walked up the aisle of the room, ignoring the noise. His head was lowered and he was twirling a lock of his curly hair around a finger as he thought.

"Is Kira really back?" One of the agents asked as she stood over a person at a computer screen.

"It sounds like it to me," the agent at the computer muttered.

"Hal Linder, Stephen Gevanni," Near said quietly as he looked at the ground. "What is your report?"

They straightened as they saw Near.

Gevanni gave the report. "Justin Wild and Ernie Mendez, the two criminals named in the broadcast, died of heart attacks while the Kira was speaking. It seems like this is the real deal."

"You and I both know that's not possible," Near said quietly as he sat on a chair, hunched over as he stared at a blank screen. In front of him was a table with dice on it.

"There is an incoming transmission," Anthony Rester interrupted. "It's from Shuichi Aizawa."

Near narrowed his eyes. Aizawa was the member of the Japanese Taskforce that had taken over the NPA after Light's death. "Put him on," Near said quietly. He started rearranging a pile of dice sitting on the table, stacking some of them so that all of the 1's faced the screen.

The screen turned on to reveal Aizawa. "What was that?" Aizawa demanded.

"That," Near said calmly, "was a transmission from Kira. It was broadcasted world-wide."

"No way!" Another voice exclaimed. Touta Matsuda ducked into sight of the screen, leaning on the desk besides Aizawa. "Light's dead."

"You should know," someone else muttered, "you shot him."

Matsuda blushed slightly and leaned back. He looked shy. Even to him, it was still shocking that he had done that.

"Kanzo Mogi," Near said as he identified the voice. "Is Hideki Ide with you as well?"

"Yes," Ide's voice filtered through. "All of the Taskforce members are here."

"Good," Near said calmly. He started stacking another row of dice. This time the 2's were facing the screen, "Though it is hardly necessary."

"Huh?" Matsuda leaned back into the screen. "What do you mean? There's a new Kira!"

"No," Near said sharply. "This is not a new Kira. This is merely an imposter who is also likely in possession of a DEATH NOTE. Likely, another Shinigami got bored."

"Near," Aizawa warned, "this person still has a DEATH NOTE."

"Yes," Near agreed, "But they're not a threat. This new Kira is merely a copycat trying his role at being in the spotlight of godhood. Their transmission reveals him to be childish, inexperienced, and lacking the abilities to engage in a competition with me. I will have him captured within the month. Your aid is not necessary. Please end the transmission Rester."

"Y-yes sir," Rester stuttered and hesitantly switched off the transmission.

"Near!" Aizawa shouted as the transmission shut off.

"Gevanni," Near continued as he kept stacking dice. "Have you tried to pinpoint the location of the transmission?"

"Ah, yeah," Gevanni straightened, "Working on it." He leaned into the computer screen and started typing on the keyboard.

"Focus your scan on Florida," Near said suddenly.

Gevanni paused and glanced Near's way, "Florida?"

"This new Kira fake, let me call him F-Kira, has made the same mistake that Light did." Near picked up another handful of dice and made another stack of 2's on the other side of the stack of 1's.

"There were a group of four criminals who died of heartattacks. They were the first "Kira kills" since Light Yagami's death. Information about them was being broadcasted only there. If we can assume that they were the work of F-Kira, then he is in that state. Their deaths were F-Kira testing out the DEATH NOTE. That is where he is," Near stopped stacking the dice and looked at Gevanni.

"It should be simple to catch him," Near knocked over the dice. They clattered to the table.

Gevanni hesitated. He wasn't so sure, but Near had proven with Light that he knew what he was doing. His computer beeped, making him look at it. "Near," he said.

"What section of Florida has F-Kira been found in?" Near asked as he started to stack the dice again.

"It didn't find him."

Near paused, hand hovering over the dice. "What?"

"The scan came out negative," Gevanni looked at him.

Near frowned. "Why?"

Why? "I don't know," Gevanni shrugged, "the scan worked, but it just didn't detect him."

"I see," Near frowned. This fake Kira is a fool, but he has struck first. In one move he dissuaded fears about Kira being dead, made an excuse for Light, the absence of "justice" these past few months, and raised distrust against me.

Near's hand accidently knocked over the dice. Two of them fell to the ground. Both of them landed with the 1 side facing up – snake eyes.

* * *

Aizawa stared at the computer screen after Near had shut him off.

"What does he mean, not necessary?" Matsuda asked with eyes wide. His voice jumped an octave. "There's someone running around with a DEATH NOTE and he says it's not necessary?!"

"Matsuda," Ide snapped.

Matsuda winced and looked down, "sorry," he muttered.

"I agree with Matsuda," Mogi muttered. "This is ridiculous. We've had far more contact with Kira then Near has."

"I agree with you as well," Aizawa promised, interlinking his fingers and setting them on the table. "It's possible that this Kira is just some maniac who managed to get ahold of a few pages of the DEATH NOTE. There were three notebooks floating around at some point here in Japan. If that's the case then the new Kira is probably still in the Kanto region of Japan."

"Well if he's here, then why don't we just investigate ourselves?" Matsuda asked.

Mogi was about to snap something, but Aizawa straightened. "Yeah, why not?" He was thinking that if they caught this new Kira first then it would show Near they can handle ourselves.

Ide narrowed his eyes. "We don't even know for sure that there is a new Kira."

"We'll have to keep watch on the situation," Aizawa nodded. "Just like the rest of the world."

* * *

 **Ha ha, Raven's scattershot program worked.**

 **I am also going to say that i consider Near the spoiled wannabe version of L. L did all of the work and figured out Light was Kira and then he dies and Near takes over and acts like he did everything. Throughout his entire fight with Light he was so confident in himself that he had everything covered and would win in the end because he was that good.** **Well, surprise Near! Raven is too weird for you!**

 **A Nearsighted person is also someone who can see things close up but not far away. Get the comparison?**


	5. Just Another Day on the Beach

The brisk ocean breeze tugged at Raven's hair as she adjusted the sail of her windsufing board to skim across the waves. She was glad that she had tied her long hair back into a ponytail.

Skimming beside her, Lily gave a whoop on her own windsail. She had her crimson red hair parted in the middle and tied back in two long braids.

Raven laughed. Ah, there was nothing she liked better than to spend a day windsurfing. She looked over to the coast where her new skeleton shadow was watching her play in the waves. If Moon would lighten up a little then he could always just fly next to her. He did have wings after all.

Spoiled Shinigami. I need to teach him to enjoy life while he's there. He's in South Beach, Florida after all. Windsurfing was almost as good as kite surfing and besides parasailing, the closest Raven could get to flying.

Lily swerved over to her, splashing her.

"Hey!" Raven shouted. A determined look crossed her face, and she pulled the sail closer to herself so her windsail shot ahead of Lily's.

Lily laughed and mimicked her as the two raced across the waves.

"I'm so glad you were able to get the day off!" Raven shouted to Lily.

"You bet!" Lily laughed. "It's been raining for the past three days, and I can only spend so much time indoors!"

"What are you going to do next month when school rolls around?" Raven asked in as serious of a tone as she could manage.

"Don't remind me!" Lily snapped as she rolled her eyes.

Raven giggled as she expertly shifted her weight and relaxed her grip on the sail enough to gain a lead on her friend. Lily's aunt worked the ice cream parlor that was Lily's summer job. Her older brother Jacob's summer job was renting out windsails, surfboards, paddleboards, and snorkeling gear to the tourists that inevitably flocked to their city for the surf and the sun. Because Lily was Jacob's sister, they got to rent his gear for free whenever they wanted.

After three days of rain all of the tourists that had been stuck indoors had flocked to the beaches. This meant that the sea was full of other people and the friends had to dodge and weave as they sailed and raced. Raven had spent those three days filling out a few pager of her new notebook, doing some extra research on Light Yagami, and helping her guild in the _World of Warcraft_ complete quests.

During those three days, Moon had also eaten three apples and four bags of potato chips. Raven would have thought that someone who was dead would eat less. Moon's excuse was that the apples of the human world were much juicer then those in the Shinigami's home, and potato chips were only found in Raven's world.

The two girls went back and forth for about an hour more on the waves before they decided that they were hungry and sailed back into the docks that her brother rented. Jacob waved at the girls as they hopped onto the dock. Two tourists in swimsuits and lifevests took over their windsails.

"Come on," Lily grinned after the two of them dropped their lifevests onto the pile of them sitting on the ground near Jacob's place. They stood under some of the public showers for a minute to wash off some of the salt. Once that was done, they returned to the backpacks they had left with Jacob and put on some clothes.

Raven traded her water shoes for sandals as she pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a nice pale blue flowing t-shirt over her bikini. The last touch was a grey baseball cap with the purple symbol of the Decepticons on it. Lily switched out of her water shoes for flip flops and dressed in a hot pink tanktop and a knee-length denim skirt.

The girls took their backpacks, said goodbye to Jacob, and headed to their favorite pizza parlor. After only a few seconds, Raven's shadow flew over to her side. Moon stayed quiet though, aware that although no one could hear his voice people could hear Raven's if she responded.

A few minutes into their walk, Lily jumped onto her favorite topic just as Raven knew she would. "Do you think Near's going to be stupid enough to challenge Kira?"

Raven sighed, "This again."

Lily glared at her. "Yes this again. Kira's back. Raven! It's Kira, the new god!"

Raven rolled her eyes.

Moon flew a little closer to Raven. "Why are _you_ so exasperated about the topic? You _are_ Kira!"

Raven predictably ignored him.

"You know in the three days since his announcement over 50 criminals have been killed," Lily egged on.

Of course I know, Raven thought with amusement. "Yes."

"Well Near hasn't done a thing in response!" Lily exclaimed, jumping back to her original subject. "Kira's obviously back and at full strength, and that stupid detective is doing nothing. I guess that's for the better although I'd rather he be dead then sulking around."

"So you don't think that Near is a threat?" Raven asked.

"He defeated Light," Lily admitted, "but Light was only an ally. He wasn't the real Kira."

Raven bit the right corner of her lip to hold back a smile. "So you believe everything that Kira said in his transmission?"

Lily nodded.

Moon hummed. He understood the reason behind this playdate now. Lily was a typical believer. By judging Lily's reaction, Raven would be able to get an idea on what affect her transmission was having worldwide. If Lily was a good judge, then it appeared that her broadcast had worked well.

"I wonder who's going to be Kira's new spokesperson?" Lily asked nonchalantly.

Raven stopped walking for a moment and then caught up, "Spokesperson?"

"Well yeah," Lily said matter of factly. "Sakura TV turned Kira into a big money-making scam so Kira killed them, and Kiyomi Takada was killed by disbelievers. He needs someone to spread his word. I wonder if it's going to be anyone in Japan this time," Lily thought about that. "Light Yagami was based in Japan but who knows where Kira is."

"Yeah," Raven said neutrally. A spokesperson! How could I have forgotten that? Who should I pick? If I pick someone in Miami then that would be a dead giveaway of where I am. Maybe I could do one in the Kanto Region of Japan and send the authorities there on a wild goose chase.

Raven looked out at the ocean while she mused it over and suddenly stopped walking. Riding the waves was a shirt-less blonde surfer. "Peter Griffin."

"What?" Lily turned and gave her an incredulous look. "What are you talking about? Why would Kira choose Peter?"

Raven raised a hand and pointed out to the ocean, "Peter Griffin."

Lily ran over to the edge of the boardwalk by the rail. "Oh! Peter…" Her eyes gained that dreamy love-struck look as Peter Griffin expertly maneuvered the waves.

Raven smiled and walked up after her. "You still want to go to prom with him?"

"What do you think?" Lily muttered.

"Well, if you want to go to prom with him then you need to be his girlfriend first," Raven reminded, "and you know he's already got Claire."

Lily huffed, "He deserves a lot better than Claire Jenkins."

"Yeah but Claire's got good curves, good breasts, and she's always got a lot of skin showing," Raven teased.

"She's as shallow as she is curvy," Lily snapped.

Peter Griffin– according to Lily – had soft blonde hair made to run your fingers through, eyes so blue you could get lost in them, the perfect tan, and even a roguish scar that split his right eyebrow vertically from a Jet Ski accident. He was also in the same grade as Lily and Raven. Raven would admit he was cute, but not _that_ cute and he seemed a little full of himself to her.

When his surfboard washed up on the shore and he stepped off, Claire Jenkins ran over and draped herself all over him. She was wearing a red bikini and her long blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders as she stood barefoot in the sand. Claire twisted her hand around Peter's shark tooth necklace teasingly.

Peter had gotten the tooth for that necklace when a Great White shark had taken a bite out of his surfboard during a competition. The tooth had been left in the board and Peter had made it into a necklace which he still wore. He said it brought him good luck.

Lily had a longing look in her eyes and Raven tapped her friend's arm. "Come on lover girl, before the pizza parlor fills up."

"But, but, it's Peter!" Lily whined.

"Come on," Raven repeated, "maybe by the start of the school year he'll realize how stupid Claire is and be open for another girl."

Lily looked dejectedly at the boards as she walked to the restaurant. "He's just so handsome," Lily whined.

"If you catch him you can keep him," Raven promised. "I'll help."

"Thanks," Lily sighed.

"Really?" Moon grumbled, "boy talk?"

Raven rolled her eyes at Moon's comment, making sure that Lily couldn't see the movement least she thought Raven was rolling her eyes at her. When they reached the pizza parlor, Lily went inside and Raven hovered outside the door. She took advantage of the chance and said without turning around, "I'm an 18 year old girl Moon, of course there's boy talk."

Moon huffed as Raven walked in after her friend. He followed, incorporeal form wafting through the glass door after he retracted his bone wings. It was just before the lunch rush and the girls were able to order quickly. They got a large pizza, half pepperoni and half-cheese since Raven hated pepperoni. Raven paid for it in a subtle move to try and cheer Lily up.

They took a one of those coasters that doubled as a pager and picked one of the few open booths that were clean after they got their drinks – Pepsi for Lily and lemonade for Raven. Moon, not in the mood for more boy talk, wandered around the parlor and listened to everyone else.

Lily sighed as she looked out the window.

"You know I'm not interested in Peter," Raven added.

"I know," Lily sighed, "you only like the bad boys or the super villains."

Raven leaned back, "I do not."

Lily turned her head to Raven. "You're wearing a hat with the Decepticon insignia on it."

"The Decepticons are cool," Raven sulked as she took of her hat and set it on the bench of the booth next to her backpack. "They get all the best gadgets. There's infights and factions and it's interesting! The Autobots are just good and that's it."

"The Sith," Lily repeated.

"Same with them," Raven huffed. "The Dark Side is so much more powerful and they get red lightsabers! The Jedi are two-dimensional just like most good guys."

"Loki from Marvel," Lily continued.

"Loki's hot and kickass," Raven defended, "perfect combo."

"Ah huh," Lily said noncommittally.

Raven played along with it. It was cheering Lily up. The coaster pager started buzzing suddenly and lit up red. "Pizza time," Raven stood, "I'll get it."

Lily stayed where she was as Raven walked up to the counter and took the black tray that the pizza was on. It was steaming. She had just walked back over to the booth and set the tray on the table when someone slammed open the door and ran into the parlor.

"Near's responding to Kira's message!" The person shouted and then ran off again.

Raven looked up and, forgetting appearances turned and looked directly at Moon. She had left the tracking program on her computer. It would use Near's transmission to pinpoint his location.

Near fell for it. I win.

* * *

 **Near really is underestimating Raven, and it's hard to tell who's more surprised by the easy win - Raven or Moon. I wonder if she's really won yet though. Raven is like Light, despite those being people, killing so many really isn't bothering her. Remember Peter Griffin and Claire Jenkins - especially Claire, they will return and Near might have a few tricks left up his sleeve.**


	6. One Month

By the time Lily and Raven managed to get to a computer screen Near's transmission was over. Raven wasn't as upset about it as Lily. Lily started speaking to Amber, another of their classmates who had been working on her tan when the transmission had started, to see if she knew what Near had said.

Raven took her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Hey Lily, I've got a text from my mom. She wants me to come home." There was no text, but the excuse was valid.

In all of the excitement from the transmission, Lily merely nodded and Raven was able to retreat back to the pizza parlor. She picked up her backpack, put her hat on, and got her half of pizza to go. Raven put her pizza in her backpack after she took out her purple and silver roller blades and went outside. She snapped the skates on. It took a second for her to get her balance and then she started skating down the sidewalk back to parking lot where her car was.

Moon flew over to her. He was surprised that he had to try to keep up with the human. "Do you have the tracking program active?"

"Yes," Raven nearly purred as she pumped her skates. "I also have it set to record Near's transmission. While I'm narrowing down the coordinates we can listen to what he said."

Her little red Volkswagen beetle was sitting in the parking lot and Raven reached into her backpack for her car keys. The movement shifted her balance and she almost lost her balance when she hopped off the sidewalk onto the asphalt parking lot. Raven managed to stay on her feet and slowed. She grabbed the handle of her door to stop and jerked against it. That wasn't her smoothest stop.

With a sigh, she opened her door and tossed her backpack into the passenger seat. She sat in the driver's seat and unclipped her roller blades, tossing them onto the floor of the passenger seat. Her hands were nearly trembling with excitement as she striped off her socks put her sandals back on.

Her car started with a purr and she put it in reverse to back up after making sure her seatbelt was secure. Moon was smaller than most Shinigami and his body was well proportioned so he was able to lay on the backseat, feet up on it as he lounged. For anyone else, Raven would have scolded him, but Moon wasn't corporeal so she supposed it didn't matter.

Raven shifted gears to drive and left the parking lot. Her mind was awhirl. If Near had really been so stupid as to respond, then it was already over. She wandered if Moon had thought the game would be so short.

"Watch it!" Moon shouted.

Raven, who had let her attention drift, looked sharply at the road. Her car had drifted lanes. She jerked the wheel hard to the right as a large pickup truck drove towards her. The two cars almost hit head on. She didn't blame the truck driver for laying on the horn.

Her backpack tipped over in the seat and dumped its contents onto the floor. After Raven's heartbeat slowed down, she looked in the rearview mirror. Moon didn't cast a reflection in the mirror either, but Raven still knew he was on the backseat. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Moon muttered. "That crash wouldn't have killed you but you would have likely been put in the hospital. It would be boring if you were in the hospital."

How did he know that crash wouldn't kill me? Then Raven remembered. "That's right. You Shinigami can see my lifespan. I don't suppose you'll tell me when I die?"

"No," Moon replied gruffly.

Raven hadn't thought so.

She put her car in park once she was home and started picking up the things that had fallen out of her backpack. Her wallet, cell phone, a pen, and switchblade had all fallen out. As she was picking up the switchblade, she noticed Moon looking at it.

"What?" She asked the Shinigami. "Never seen one of these?" She clicked it and the blade popped out. There was no handguard and the hilt was made of black plastic with a clip for her belt. "It used to be my dad's."

Moon tilted his head. "I haven't seen your father. Where is he?"

Raven lowered her head. She retracted the blade of her knife and shoved it in her backpack.

"What?" Moon asked.

Raven ignored him. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and grabbed her car keys and rollerblades. Her house key was on the car key ring so she nudged the door of her beetle shut and locked it, soundlessly walking up to her front porch. Moon walked through the car and followed his human pet.

Raven had already unlocked the front door and was walking in. She closed the front door in Moon's face to and ran upstairs to her room.

"What did I say?" Moon asked innocently. He looked around the living room of Raven's house instead of going up after her. Although there were pictures of Raven and her mother, he realized that there were none that might be of her father.

Curious, he went up after Raven. Although he was sure the girl saw him, she kept looking at her computer. Knowing better then to interrupt, he sat on her bed.

"He's in Spain," Raven said after a minute of tense silence. "About a year ago, he left with his secretary Amber. Now he's living the cliché with her. He'd been with her for a year before mom found out and started working on the divorce papers."

"Why do you have his blade then?" Moon asked.

"He taught me how to sail," Raven said quietly. She smiled, "and he was still my dad."

"What was his name?" Moon asked.

"Johnathan Dorky," Raven sighed.

"Dorky?" Moon snickered.

"I know," Raven sighed. "After the divorce my mother went back to using her maiden name and I did to."

"I don't think I saw you write his name in the notebook," Moon frowned.

"I didn't," Raven replied as she clicked an icon on one of the computer monitors.

Moon kept quiet as Raven started typing on her keyboard again.

"I thought so," Raven sighed.

Moon assumed that she wasn't talking about her father anymore, and that it was about her program. She didn't elaborate and so he was forced to ask, "What?"

"Near's transmission is cloaked with his own scattershot program," Raven muttered.

Moon felt his wings start to droop until Raven smiled. "Unfortunately for him, my tracking program is better."

Moon glared at her.

She gave him a cheeky smile as if teasing a God of Death was fun. "And here's his message." Raven clicked with her mouse.

One of her screens turned white and a black letter 'N' appeared on it. "Kira," a distorted voice filtered through the speakers, "this is Near."

"Your lies do not impress me. Light Yagami was the real Kira and he is dead. You are nothing but an imposter playing pretend. I do not fear you. You are not justice, you are a monster and I fear greatly for the world if _you_ become the new god. My taskforce and I will not stand idly by while a monster like you decides who lives and who dies. The choice is not yours. You are evil and I will defeat you." The message ended.

"Huh," Raven blinked. "That was… short, and volatile.

"It sounds like Near is trying to get _you_ to respond now," Moon snickered.

Raven smiled. "He's probably figured out that I used a scattershot program. He missed his chance to try and track me once before. If I respond, he'll have a more advanced tracking program. It's too bad for him that I'm not going to respond. I'm going to kill him and gloat later. That's one mistake all bad guys make, you know."

"What?" Moon asked.

"They have the good guy pinned down and they'll about to triumph and then they start talking and give the good guy a chance to retaliate and escape," Raven shook her head. "I'll wait until after he's not a threat to enjoy myself."

Moon didn't instantly reply. Raven made a surprisingly good point.

"He must be upset that he couldn't track me," Raven grinned. "Let me track him."

On another screen a map of the world appeared. It narrowed itself down to the United States, and then to the Eastern shoreline of the US and the state of New York. A satellite view of New York City, New York materialized and zoomed in on one building. An address popped up in a box next to the building.

"Got ya," Raven smiled. "Now all I have to do is hack their security system and tap into the video feed. That will give me a face."

Moon chuckled quietly as Raven began working on her computer to break into Near's security system. He stayed quiet after that. It was sad really, Raven looked like she had Near on the ropes. In less than a week she was about to do what Light had spent months trying to do.

He looked at the girl. Her name was floating above her head in red characters and below that was her lifespan. Moon did the math in his head and turned the string of numbers into a date. It really was too bad that Raven was going to die within a month.

Moon supposed that once she died, he could take the DEATH NOTE and give it to someone who was going to live longer. If Raven could kill Near in the meantime then that would make things easier for the next person, and that would make it easier for the New World to be created.

* * *

 **Raven scores another point against Near, and is hopefully about to get the win. Moon doesn't even intend to tell her that she's about to die, but then again why should he? It really isn't his concern and yet he is curious about the new world. That is odd for a Shinigami.**

 **I looked it up and Dorky is a real last name.**


	7. A Difference in Opinion

_Shinigami World_

Gook and Deridovely were playing cards while Zellogi watched them. There was the sound of wingbeats in the air and Zellogi looked up to see a white Shinigami land and fold his giant white dragon wings onto his back.

"What's going on in the human world?" The newcomer Shinigami asked.

"Huh?" Gook looked up from his hand of cards.

"He means the Shinigami that's decided to play copycat with Ryuk," Deridovely explained. "He dropped a DEATH NOTE. I think his name is Moon. Some girl found it."

Zellogi chuckled. "I've seen her. She's a pretty thing."

Deridovely and Gook laid their cards down. "Ha! I win again!"

Gook stared and then scoffed. "I never win."

"Then maybe you shouldn't play," the dragon-winged Shinigami pointed out.

"Hey, who asked you?" Gook snapped, "As a matter of facet, who are you? I don't remember seeing you around. Are you one of the new guys?"

"What's it to you?" The Shinigami asked.

"I wouldn't worry about the human world," Zellogi interrupted their squabble before it could deepen. "That Moon guy will be back in a month."

"How do you know that?" Gook demanded.

"Because I was planning on writing the girl's name in my DEATH NOTE," Zellogi said plainly. "But when I looked, she only had a little over a month left to live. I wasn't going to waste the time writing her name down if it was only going to add a month to my lifespan. Now, I can't see her date of death. That means she's got a DEATH NOTE."

"Once she's dead, couldn't Moon just give it to another human?" Gook asked, "He'd get to pick one who would live longer."

"Or he could prevent her from dying," Deridovely shrugged as he picked up the cards and shuffled them.

Everyone shut up at that. In the past, the secret to killing a Shinigami was nearly unknown. After the events of Light and Rem, it had stopped being a secret. The Shinigami King was not pleased that it had become common knowledge, and he also wasn't pleased that Moon was continuing the Kira fiasco.

The dragon-winged Shinigami's long skin covered, serpent like tail swished. It was pointed and had bone spikes and patches of white scales over the white skin. His whole humanoid body was like that, skin the color of bleached bones with random patches of scales and small bone spikes. On top of his head was a mess of short and spikey hair the color of fresh blood.

He wore torn black pants, black combat boots, and a faded and worn black duster that came down to his knees. Tucked into the inside of the duster was his DEATH NOTE. Around his neck was a tight black leather choker beaded with polished bone. That was all.

"Who are you again?" Gook asked.

"Drake," the scaled Shinigami informed Gook curtly, "As if it's your business."

"You up for another hand?" Deridovely asked Gook smugly.

Gook nodded although Zellogi chuckled. When would Gook learn that he was no good at this?

"You want me to deal you in?" Deridovely asked Drake.

Drake opened his wings and took off without responding.

"Cheerful fellow, isn't he?" Deridovely asked sarcastically.

"Hey, deal me in," Zellogi tossed and hopped down from his perch to sit down next to the others.

* * *

 _Human World_

Raven grabbed her switchblade from inside her desk and put it in the pocket of her backpack with her skating pads and her wallet.

"So, is Cody going to help you with your skateboard skills?" Lily asked her.

Raven rolled her eyes, "again with Cody?"

"Hey," Lily said in a teasing voice. "You two are going out on a date so he can teach you how to skateboard."

"It is not a date!" Raven said in exasperation.

"But I'm not invited," Lily whined.

"You don't have a skateboard," Raven snapped. "And last time I checked, the only wheels you can handle are your SUV and a bike. You don't do skates – of any sort."

Lily fell quiet with a little grumbling, allowing Raven a moment of peace. Raven didn't mind Lily's personality, but sometimes she was annoying. If Lily wasn't talking about Kira then it was boys. She was glad that Lily had only called and Raven was speaking to her through her phone's speaker.

"Are you sure it's not a date?" Lily repeated. "I know you like him."

"Like you like Peter," Raven muttered, too quietly for the phone to pick it up and transmit. Then she spoke louder. "For the last time, Cody is just a friend. I don't love him. Unlike most girls, I don't need a boyfriend. I've seen what losing a boy does to a girl. Lovesick insanity is just not my thing. Not in high school."

"What about college?" Lily asked.

"That might be different," Raven smiled. "But that's next year. Talk later."

"All right," Lily sighed, static crackling her voice. "You tell me the details tomorrow."

Raven rolled her eyes, "not a boyfriend."

Lily laughed and there was a click as she hung up. Raven smiled as she turned off the speaker. She flicked her hand, twirling her knife.

"I will never understand girls," Moon said honestly.

Raven chuckled quietly and turned towards him. She flicked the knife blade between her fingers and threw it as she completed the turn. Moon was looking the wrong way and he jumped as the knife went through where his heart would have been, and it thudded into a target on the wall behind it. He jumped and fell off the chair he had claimed.

He looked back at the blade and then to Raven. "What did you do that for?" The anger in his voice was palpable.

Raven stepped back from her bed and raised her hands as the Shinigami stood. "Calm down Moon, didn't you say knives couldn't kill you?"

"No they can't, so why did you throw that at me?!" Moon demanded.

"For one thing, you're standing right in front of the dart board on the back of my door and I always throw my knife at it," Raven pointed.

Moon glanced behind him and did indeed see the dart board. It was hard to scowl when you were just a skeleton, but Moon was doing a fair imitation of it.

"Second," Raven continued. "I threw my headphones at you when I first saw you and they passed right through you. Remember?"

Moon huffed when Raven walked politely around instead of through him and yanked her knife free.

"Third, you're the only information source I have," Raven retracted the blade and tossed it into her backpack. "There is no way for me to cross-reference anything you're saying. If you're lying there's no way for me to know unless I test it myself."

"I am a God of Death," Moon reminded her. "I don't die." Well… it was possible to kill a Shinigami but her wasn't about to tell her how.

"So I noticed," Raven replied sweetly as she sat on her bed and started putting on her sneakers.

Moon growled like a cat. "Are you even taking your task seriously?"

"Meaning what?" Raven asked curiously.

"It has been four days since you found out where Near's headquarters are and yet you haven't done a thing." Moon said patiently. "Why not?"

"I need to be careful," Raven chided. "I'm only going to have one good shot at this. If I hack into their system and I'm discovered then they will be able to pinpoint _my_ location. I need to be careful. I'll make a move when I'm ready, and I am taking it seriously. Tonight I'm going to Skype Mei Akiyama."

"Who?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "She's a news reporter on Channel 7 news back in the Kanto Region in Japan."

"Kanto Region?" Moon straightened. "Where Light Yagami worked from?"

"Near's busy trying to figure out who I am," Raven shrugged, "I figured I might as well give the Japanese Taskforce something to do. Besides, if they're investigating the reporter who knows nothing they can't help Near investigate me. That's less enemies for me to worry about."

"I assume that when you Skype you won't actually be showing your face," Moon sighed.

"Duh," Raven replied smartly as she zipped up her backpack and slung it over a shoulder. "Why are you so concerned this New World anyway? What's it to you? You're a Shinigami."

Moon didn't respond.

Raven frowned as she turned around and looked at him. "What is it to you Moon? Why is creating this New World so important to you?"

"Ryuk started this adventure when he gave the DEATH NOTE to Light Yagami," Moon replied neutrally. "I simply want to see it through. Besides, it's interesting to watch you humans go at it."

"Didn't that "adventure" end when Light was shot?" Raven asked sarcastically as she walked by Moon to head downstairs.

In a way, Moon admitted, she was right. He just needed her to kill Near before she died. With him eliminated, the next person he gave the DEATH NOTE to would have a fine chance at finishing the New World at last.

Raven's mom worked at the hospital and she was already gone by the time Raven got downstairs. Raven didn't mind. She fetched her skateboard from the garage. The knowledge that Cody was going to be there to help her gave her a little courage as she took her carkeys off of the rack by the garage door and headed out front to her car. Despite the courage, she was still fairly certain she was going to make a fool of herself.

She had already put her stuff in the passenger seat and was starting the car before Moon finally appeared and stretched out on the backseat. He didn't say anything so Raven didn't address him. If there was one thing she did not understand, it was that Shinigami. Moon kept saying he wasn't on her side and didn't care what happened, and yet he seemed so focused on helping her make the New World. What was with him?

She kept a close eye on the road, not eager to repeat her near-crash a few days ago and made it to the skate park without trouble. There were teenagers everywhere lounging in the shade, chatting, skating the obstacles offered, or trying a few tricks on level cement. Raven spotted Cody's old powder blue pickup. It was easy for her to park her little Volkswagen in a spot.

Once her car was off, she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached down for her skateboard and backpack. Moon had already drifted through the car and was outside by the time Raven was sitting up and started putting on her knee and elbow pads.

Raven was curious why her question had upset Moon so much. Odder still was the fact that Moon's unease had doubled when she had mentioned that Light Yagami had been shot. Then he had shut up. Why Light? She needed to do some research of her own into the Kira case.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Moon open his bone wings. As she was velcroing on her knee pads a pair of flip flops entered her line of sight and stopped right in front of her. It wasn't Cody. Cody hated flip flops. She looked up and was surprised to see Peter Griffin. He was shirtless as usual and wore his shark tooth necklace – as usual.

"Hello," Raven said politely.

"Raven," Peter greeted her. "Out skating? You should really try to ride the waves."

"Surfing really isn't my thing," Raven shrugged as she stood and picked up her helmet.

Peter leaned against the roof of her car with one arm as if he owned it. "Out here by yourself?"

"Cody is supposed to meet me. He's around here somewhere," Raven looked around Peter. She hoped to see Cody, but unfortunately there was no sign of him.

"Cody?" Peter's smile became rather smug as if he was some prince. His family had enough mone that he might as well be a prince. "Why waste time with that punk?"

"For one thing he knows how to skateboard," Raven replied tartly. She didn't like people talking bad about Cody. He liked dressing in black, but that didn't mean he was a punk.

"Uh huh," Peter said with the same smirk.

"Say," Raven changed the subject before he could insult Cody more. "Where's Claire?"

Peter shrugged. "We broke up yesterday."

"Sorry," Raven said, unsure what to say. She tossed her backpack back inside her car and set her helmet and skateboard on the ground.

Peter rolled his eyes as if he didn't care less. He probably didn't. Girlfriends came and went from him fairly frequently, partially because there weren't many girls that weren't in love with him.

"Say," Peter spoke up as Raven closed and locked her car. "I was wondering if you'd like to do something with me, but then again why bother wondering. Of course you'd like to do something with me. Who wouldn't?" His smile had a seductive edge to it.

"Do something?" Raven tilted her head to look up at him. She wasn't surprised that he was trying to move in on her. Raven was one of the few girls that weren't in love with Peter, and so she was a challenge. "Like what?"

Peter leaned in even closer to her, close enough to steal a kiss. He didn't seem aware that Raven was uncomfortable. "Oh, maybe go see a movie together. There are a few new ones out. I'll let you pick."

Raven knelt down to pick up her board and helmet in an attempt to stall. She held both in one hand. When she stood, she saw Moon watching them curiously. "I'm afraid not. I have plans tonight."

Peter blinked in surprise. He was not used to a girl turning him down – ever. "Did you say you don't want to go with me?"

"I can say it again if you want," Raven dismissed. She tried to brush by Peter, but he grabbed her arm sharply and pulled her back, banging her against her car door. Raven looked at his hand and then at him.

"Maybe I should repeat myself," Peter said.

"Maybe not," Raven replied tartly. "I have stuff to do tonight. I think I said that already, so let go."

"What?" Peter asked. He reached forward and stroked Raven's check.

Raven jerked her head away, breaking the contact, "Stop. I'm not interested."

Peter smiled. "Yeah right," he chuckled. "Are you going to make me stop sweetheart? You and who else?"

Raven knew Peter, and had suspected that something like this would happen. He was very confident of his abilities with girls and wasn't used to being turned down. Lily was right. Peter was drop dead gorgeous, but that was all the perks he had.

"I don't need a boy to come running to my rescue. I'm an actress." Raven could see that Moon and Peter had a similarly blank look. It seemed boys were the same no matter the species.

She gave him a small smile and stomped Peter's barefoot. The heel of her boot landed right on the instep of Peter's foot. While he gave a yelp, Raven hit him in the throat with a palmstrike and jerked free.

Peter started swearing and coughing as he tried to breathe from his crushed throat. Raven hadn't landed on his foot hard enough to break it, nor had she used enough force to damage his throat. It would do little more than bruise.

Raven turned to face him and now looked down on him. "Actress's learn to stage fight. The only difference between a stage fight and a real fight is that in a stage fight, you don't hit the person."

She looked past Moon and saw Cody. He was running over. Raven looked back at Peter. "Now if you excuse me, I have a skating lesson to attend to."

Moon stepped to one side so Raven didn't walk though him and looked back at Peter. He knew Peter's type. Peter was sure that he knew girls and that every girl loved him. If a girl didn't out rightly say that, he just went ahead with his move anyway, sure that they wanted it but were just too shy to say so.

He flew back towards Raven. She was walking calmly to a boy that seemed to be her age.

The boy was dressed in black jeans, black tank top, black military boots, black fingerless gloves, and wore a black cloth dog collar with spikes tight around his neck. There were silver chains hanging on his jeans. His black hair was spiked and wild. Moon could tell it was dyed. Small black gauges were in his ears and there was a silver piercing on the left side of his lower lip.

Raven was shaking her head at the concerned tone he used. "I'm fine. He just tried his play on me. I said no and he got pushy. You know how he is. I think I just bruised him though. Really Cody, it's nothing."

The boy dressed in black, Cody, glanced at Moon. For a second, Moon thought Cody was looking at him but he was really looking at Peter. Peter was standing up again. He was looking between his golden-blonde bangs at Raven and Cody. If looks could kill, then the Third Kira's quest would have ended there.

Cody grinned and lightly slugged Raven's arm instead. "That is why I do not worry about you Rave. You defiantly don't do the damsel-in-distress business. So, ready to give your skateboard another try?"

Raven smiled, "You bet."

* * *

 _Shinigami World_

Drake had his nose in his DEATH NOTE and was calmly flipping through its pages. The first name he had written was Light Yagami. He had discovered later that Light Yagami was already dead. Once Light's identity as Kira had been discovered and he had been critically wounded, Ryuk had ended the game and killed him.

Now the Kira charade had begun again with a different human. The idea had been stupid to been with and now it had been continued. The tip of Drake's tail twitched like a rattlesnake. He was frustrated. Last time, he had not been able to stop Kira. This time he would.

Drake closed his DEATH NOTE and looked up. Beyond him was the Shinigami King's right hand man. If he wanted to speak to the King then he had to get _him_ to agree to it first. Taloned hand trembling with a mixture of fear and excitement, Drake tucked his DEATH NOTE back into his jacket and walked over.

* * *

 **Did you see Raven clocking Peter coming? She really doesn't seem like the type to get into fights but man is she her own women. Do you know someone like Peter? An overly confident jock (surfing instead of football like most) who thinks that the world is his? Being spoiled rich is just another added perk. The whole reason he's interested in Raven is because she's not interested in him and it's a challenge - a chase. Peter is going to return.**

 **How can Drake be a newcomer to the Shinigami World? Why would he have such a vendetta against a human? Why does he want to speak to the Shinigami King? Answers will appear in time.**


	8. True Colors

It was about an hour before sunset when Raven finally surrendered to the fate that she was no good at a skateboard. She had a skinned shin and a sore wrist, and gladly walked back to her car. Cody walked with her. He was likely still wary about what Peter might do.

Peter came from a rich family and was used to getting whatever he wanted. The only reason he came to a public high school was because there were more girls and less rules there. With his parent's money at his disposal there was little anyone could do against him. Raven's rather harsh rejection would not make him happy.

Raven would have been very foolish not to be worried, but she could only hope that Peter would keep his distance. Proving that she would not be forced into something would give most boys the message, but perhaps not Peter. She had her switchblade clipped onto her belt, hidden under her shirt, just in case.

Moon grumbled to himself as Raven and Cody chatted. "Another day absolutely wasted."

"You sure you'll be alright," Cody asked. "I've got a really sweet aluminum bat up in my room if you want to borrow it."

Raven laughed. "I think I'm fine."

She had the DEATH NOTE now, and if Peter did try something then she'd just write his name down. It was unfortunate that Raven couldn't always keep the DEATH NOTE with her, but the risk of someone touching it and being able to see Moon was too great.

The two friends parted ways, and Raven began her drive home. Now that Raven was able to respond freely, Moon started speaking. "Why did you just waste an entire day?"

"I did not just waste a whole day," Raven snapped. "Now don't ruin my good mood."

Moon made a snort like noise.

Raven rolled her eyes. "For your information, I usually go out with Cody. If I didn't go with him, it would look weird. Breaking my normal routine isn't a good thing last time I checked. It might give something away."

Moon huffed as he sprawled out on the backseat of her car and crossed his arms. He looked out one of the side windows. Raven gave a small smile. Her new shadow was so touchy, and yet he couldn't argue with espionage logic.

It was starting to get dark out, so Raven reached over and clicked on her headlights. She looked away from the road momentarily.

"Hey!" Moon shouted.

Raven jerked her head above the dashboard, and slammed on her brakes as someone stumbled in front of her headlights. That was the second time Moon had saved her from a car crash. Two much larger silhouettes grabbed the one who had stumbled in front of her headlights and dragged it into an alley out of sight.

Confused, Raven followed the movement with her eyes. "What in the…"

She turned around in the seat to look at Moon asking with her eyes. Moon shrugged. It wasn't his concern. He was trembling though, as if he had just done something he shouldn't have when he alerted Raven of the human.

Raven rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seatbelt as she opened the door. Moon didn't budge from his perch. In fact, he looked up at the ceiling.

Quickly, Raven walked down the alleyway. Her eyes adjusted to the darker lighting to let her see through the shadows. There were three figures, men presumably, running down it dragging a much smaller figure. She could already tell that these men were worth Kira's judgement.

"Hey!" She shouted.

That scared the men. The one that was dragging the figure dropped her, and all three turned around. After seeing the carlights they were likely expecting police. What they obviously weren't expecting was Raven.

The men looked at her, and started laughing.

"Oh boy," one smiled. "Now we get two."

"Better then sharing one," another snickered.

"Come here little girlie," the third one cooed as he stepped closer to Raven. "We just want a little fun. Just for one night."

Raven sighed and shook her head. She put her hands on her hips, one hand touching the switchblade still clipped onto her belt. "Why is it men are only concerned with getting under a girl's skirt? Do you honestly have nothing better to fill that hot-air stuffed head of yours?"

The men didn't seem to like that. The one that was walking towards her reached down and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at what Raven believed was her head. To her though, it looked like it was a little far to the left.

"Come over here bitch," he ordered her with his gun "Before I blow your brains across the alley. You behave yourself tonight, and I might turn you lose once I'm done with you instead of doing that to you anyway."

Raven's position had suddenly become less confident. She slowly walked over to him. This was going to be tricky.

This goon was making the mistake that most gunslingers did. A gun was a long range weapon, and he was letting Raven walk very close to him. She didn't mind.

"That's right," the goon chuckled as Raven came within punching distance. "Come to daddy."

"You're not my daddy," Raven told him as she clicked her switchblade open.

The goon looked at her curiously as Raven stabbed the arm he was still holding the gun in. He screamed in pain and with her free hand Raven elbowed him in the solar plexus, knocking his breath out of him. She jerked her knife free, splashing blood on her as she did so. While the goon was reeling, Raven kicked him hard behind the knee and made his leg buckle. While his balance was off, she punched him in the throat with her empty hand. The combo knocked him flat on his back.

"My daddy left the country," she told the stunned man on the ground as she blew one of her violet-dyed bangs out of her face. "Before he did that though he was a member of the Marine Corps, and he taught me a few tricks."

She looked up at the stunned looks on the faces of the other two men.

"Really?" Raven told them. "You boys are so dense. If you men aren't thinking that we're your servants to order around and undress whenever you tell us, you think us helpless." Raven smiled and rolled her eyes. "You think that we're all damsels-in-distress that need a knight in shining armor to protect them."

Her amused tone suddenly turned hostile as she looked back at them sharply. "News flash creeps, this isn't the seventeenth century. It's the twentieth. I hate to be the one to break it to ya, but us girls are more than just a man's property. We don't cling to the days of the old when we were. We girls know how to change with the times."

Raven knelt down, and picked up the gun that the goon had let go of. The horror on the man's faces as she stood back up and pointed the commandeered pistol at them was hilarious. "You boys might want to learn how to grow up."

The men inched backwards, truly terrified, and then suddenly turned and ran.

Raven let them go. She lowered the gun and clicked the safety back on it. Still smiling, she closed her switchblade and shoved it in her pocket as she started fiddling with the gun.

"Stagefighting huh?" A voice behind her asked.

Raven jumped and spun around, raising the gun. If they safety hadn't been on they she would have shot.

"Moon," she hissed.

Moon was indeed standing in the mouth of the alley, arms crossed as he leaned against the grime-smeared wall.

"I thought you stayed in the car," Raven grumbled as she turned back around and started messing with the gun again.

"I did," Moon admitted. "Thought it might be interesting to watch. So your dad was military. Explains why the switchblade's military grade. Where was he deployed?"

"Afghan twice, Iraq once," Raven tossed out. "He got PTSD after the last deployment, and that's probably part of the reason why he split. There," she said as she pulled a small metal pin from the gun. She dropped the gun by the unconscious rapist-to-be.

"You're going to give it back to him?" Moon asked. He looked confused again.

Raven held up the metal pin she had taken from the gun. "This is the trigger pin. The gun can't fire without it. All it'lldo is make a little click noise. I can't wait until he tries to use it, only for it to click."

"Creative," Moon said as Raven tucked the pin out of sight. "About that stagefighting…"

Raven rolled her eye and sighed dramatically. "That was how I first learned how to fight. After my father's first deployment – the Iraq one – he taught me more. Before you ask why I didn't tell you, _you_ didn't ask."

That was fair enough to Moon. He looked past Raven to the girl the goons had been dragging. "She looks a little peckish."

"Who?" Raven asked.

Then she remembered. The girl! She sucked in a breath of surprise and ran over to where the girl had been dropped. Raven slowly knelt by her side in shock when she realized she recognized the girl. "Amber?"

The girl curled up on the ground slowly raised her eyes. "Raven," she whispered in a trembling voice.

"Yeah," Raven smiled. "It's me. Can you stand?" She didn't bother asking Amber if she was okay as she obviously wasn't.

"I think so," Amber whispered as Raven helped her to her feet. "Where are my glasses?"

Raven looked around the alleyway for the reflection of Amber's blue metal-rimmed glasses. "What are you doing walking around by yourself?"

"I-I was at the boardwalk. I rented some gear from Jacob and I lost track of time," Amber stuttered.

Jacob, Lily's brother. "Why didn't you call your sister? She could have come and picked you up."

Amber shook her head as Raven started helping her walk back to her car. "My sis is in a job interview. I didn't want to interrupt her. She just got back from her deployment overseas, so she really needs a job. Especially with mom in the hospital and dad in rehab…"

"Right," Raven said.

Amber's mother was currently dying of Stage 4 cervical cancer in the hospital, and none of the treatments were working. Her father had been an alcoholic, and was currently in rehab. As for her sister, Ruby, she had just gotten back from a deployment with the Air Force in Syria fighting ISIS. Ruby was her only family fit to take care of her.

"Ruby really needs a job," Amber said. "We gotta pay for mom's medical bills and dad kind of got us in debt, and there are still taxes and bills. The Government won't give us a break, and we're about to lose our phones. I didn't want to cost Ruby the job so I figured I'd just walk home. Kira's been killing off everyone bad and crime rates have gone way down, so I thought I'd be all right."

Raven gave a sad smile. "Kira's not done making his New World yet."

"I'll remember that next time," Amber promised as she picked up her purse. "He's killed all of the terrorist leaders and ISIS and local militias can handle the situation now. That's why Ruby was able to come home. Things aren't perfect yet."

"Not yet," Raven repeated, "but it will be."

She jerked on Amber's arm and suddenly stopped her from taking a step.

"Wait," Raven said. After making sure that Amber could stand on her own, Raven knelt down and picked up her glasses that she had almost stepped on.

"Here," Raven said quietly as she put them on Amber and pushed them up her friend's nose. "Can you see better now?"

Amber nodded.

"Good," Raven said. "I'm going to drive you home."

Raven walked Amber past Moon and to her still-running car. She opened her door, and tossed her stuff from the passenger seat into the back. Out of habit, she dropped it onto the floor instead of on the seat itself so Moon could lay back there.

"Alright," Raven told Amber. "Come here."

She guided her friend into the passenger seat, and closed the door behind her before hurrying to her own seat. Moon spread out on the backseat as the two girls buckled up. Raven glanced over at Amber and was finally able to see the extent of her friend's injuries.

The right lens of her glasses was cracked and there was horrid bruising around that side of her face along with a black eye. Her lip was split. Amber brushed a few locks of her mouse brown hair to cover the hurt side of her face. She was cradling her right arm as if it was hurt.

"How's your arm?" Raven asked gently.

"One of those guys twisted it pretty bad," Amber whispered. "I think my wrist is sprained. I guess I won't be playing my violin anytime soon." She tried a smile but it fell flat.

"Did any of them say their name?" Raven asked.

Amber shook her head, "Just nicknames. They were probably scared of Kira. I wish he could help."

"He just might," Raven promised as she shifted her car out of park and into drive.

"Doesn't that bother you?" Amber asked suddenly.

Raven gave her a confused look, and Amber poinyed to her hand. Curiously, Raven looked down. Some of the goon's blood was splashed on her wrist and fingers from where she had stabbed him in the arm.

"To be honest," Raven admitted. "I didn't even notice it was there."

"It doesn't bother you," Amber whispered.

"Blood doesn't scare me," Raven shrugged as she started driving. Once she hit 15 mph the doors automatically locked. "Besides, he had it coming."

The drive back to Amber's house was blissfully quiet. Thankfully, the lights were on at Amber's place so her sister must be home. "Do you want me to walk you up?"

"I can do that," Amber promised. She clenched her purse as she opened the door and walked to the front door.

Amber knocked on the front door, and after a moment Ruby opened it. Ruby grabbed her younger sister's arm in panic at the state of her injuries and spoke. Amber eplied, and Ruby looked to where Raven was. Raven waved.

Ruby nodded in turn, and Raven knew Amber would be all right. Quickly, Ruby ushered her little sister inside. She started the drive back to her house.

For a few minutes, Raven drove in silence.

"Moon," she said after a bit. "I don't know you very well. You've only been here for about two weeks, but you seem to agree with Light. You want to create the New World. In order to do that, you coaxed me to take up Light's mantle as Kira."

"Where are going with this?" Moon asked gruffly.

"I don't know the names of those three men," Raven said. "They're going to get away. You do Moon, you came up behind me and watched the fight. You saw them with your special eyes."

"No," Moon said flatly. "Yes I know they're names, but I'm not telling you."

"Why not?" Raven asked.

"Why not the human asks," Moon muttered. "I've already changed the timeline. Twice I've saved human life. That's going to get me in a lot of trouble when I go back home. I'm not altering any more lives."

"I want the names of those men to kill them," Raven snapped. "Isn't that what Shinigami do? Kill people? And when did you save lives?"

"I stopped you from getting into a car crash with that truck awhile back," Moon muttered. "That wouldn't have killed you, but it would have severely injured you. I probably would have ended up taking the DEATH NOTE from you. You didn't have the crash, so you still have the DEATH NOTE. Your time of death has been altered. Amber's probably going to get me in the most trouble."

"Why is that?" Raven asked. What did he mean by my time of death has been altered?

"You were supposed to kill Amber," Moon said bluntly.

Raven glanced at him in surprise before looking back at the road. She was quiet for a moment. "I was supposed to hit her with the car and kill her."

"Yep," Moon sighed. "Thanks to my warning she wasn't killed. She was supposed to die and I stopped it. The only I'm not dust is that I didn't know she was supposed to die. I saw her run in front of the car, but didn't her name or date of death. I don't want to push my luck anymore."

His tone ended in a snap. When he realized he had mentioned that he could have died he shut up. No one was supposed to know that you could kill Shinigami.

Raven focused on the road. What did he mean by dust? Do Gods of Death even die? Can they? Moon made it sound like he almost died. That might be something to think about.

"I don't know about dust," Raven said carefully, "but you're not saving these lives. I'm going to kill them. I don't know why you're so touchy about the subject of Light Yagami or his death, but I know you want this New World to come to be. How can there be a New World with men like them running around?"

Moon huffed at her point.

"Would you rather create the New World or not?" Raven demanded. "Do you want those men to run around? I want to make my home safer. Will you help create this New World, or are you going to stand by and watch as darkness claims Earth again?"

Moon didn't answer. Raven hadn't expected that to work, but she had needed to try. The lights weren't on at her house so her mom must be working a late shift at the hospital. That didn't bother Raven too much. She'd be able to clean her blade in peace.

She turned the keys off and got out of the car.

"Jackson Childs," Moon said just as Raven was about to close her door.

She had to grab it quickly before it slammed. "Huh?"

"The goon you stabbed was Jackson Childs," he muttered. "The other two were Charles Liam and Rex Dodge."

Raven stood there. Moon had given her the names of the men. "Why?"

"It's like you said," Moon sighed. "You're going to be killing them. Besides, I'm in enough trouble with the Shinigami King already. I might as well go full out and see just how much more trouble I can get into."

Raven smiled, and Moon tilted his head up at her.

He seemed to be smiling, and the red embers of his eyes bright. "I want this New World made," he told Raven. " And I will see it made. I know I'm just supposed to watch but hey, this is more fun."

"So we're on the same side," Raven asked, "a team of sorts."

"Yeah," Moon said. "Something like that."

* * *

 **I am sorry about the gap in updating. In the time gap I've been finalizing everything for my college, driving across two states to get to the college, getting set up in my new dorm, and dealing with college life. Labor day weekend is the first real break I've gotten. My updates may be more sporadic from now on but i'll still shoot for a chapter a week.**

 **Story: Now Near is in trouble. Moon isn't even going to attempt the facade that he doesn't care what happens. Raven actually guilt-tripped the Shinigami into helping her. How many of you saw Raven's trick with the knife coming?**

 **Here is where her similarities with Light start to come to light. Pun intended. She doesn't mind the fact that she stabbed someone and has their blood on her. As far as she's concerned he had it coming so her conscious doesn't come into play. Plus, she doesn't like most men because of her past - again backstory will come later.**

 **Light had a god complex. Raven more so has gained a slight (or possibly not so slight) sociopath complex over the years. She's about 18 but she really doesn't mind cutting someone to ribbons. That does not describe most 18 year old girls or most normal people. It really doesn't bother her.**

 _ ** **Psychopath** **: someone who is born "wrong." They have always been a murder unable to feel emotions, a conscious, or attachments.****_

 _ **Sociopath: someone who turns into a murderer through life experiences but who was born "normal."**_


	9. Wild Goose Chase

Raven's fingers danced over the keyboard as she typed rapidly. Across from her bed, her TV was on. A news anchor was just reporting the death of three serial rapists and murderers. Their names were Jackson Childs, Charles Liam and Rex Dodge.

Moon was not present in Raven's room. He had picked up the habit of perching on the roof of her house like a vulture and looking out over the town. She didn't mind his absence and constant questions about what she was doing.

Raven picked up her mango smoothie and took a sip without looking away from the screen full of code. She loved mangos, especially in smoothie form. Her eyes narrowed as she mistyped something, and she fixed her mistake. Focus was of the essence here, so she set her smoothie back on a tile coaster with a picture of snowflakes. Living in Miami as she did, that tile was the closest Raven had ever come to seeing snow.

Her DEATH NOTE was sitting on the desk next to her smoothie. It was open to a partially full page of names and there was a pencil sitting in the gutter between the pages. The last entry said: _Daichi Tsukino Heart Attack 7:45 am_.

"What are you doing?" A voice behind her asked.

Raven sighed as she brushed a blue-streaked lock of hair behind her ear. That was Moon's voice. She had so seen that coming!

"I thought you were on the roof. Get tired of brooding?" Raven asked.

"I wasn't brooding," Moon snapped.

Raven smile briefly, but didn't look away from her work. "Before you ask again Moon, I'm rewriting the code that runs a website. By doing this I'm making it so my call can't be tracked back to me. I'm also crosswiring my scattershot program with the website to another level of security."

"What website?" Moon asked. He leaned over her shoulder.

"Stop hovering," Raven scolded Moon.

With a huff, Moon straightened.

"As for your question," Raven continued as she finished typing and saved the code. "This is called Skype. It's how I'm going to contact Mei."

"Mei?" Moon asked curiously. Then he remembered. "Oh Mei Akiyama, the reporter in Japan's Kanto region. She's going to be Kira's new voice."

"At least your skull isn't completely stuffed with hot air," Raven teased Moon as she closed the coding and opened the Skype icon on one of her monitors.

"Hey," Moon warned.

"By the by, skull boy," Raven added as the Skype loaded. "I haven't just been wasting time. I've been doing my research on Mei. She has a security system set up in her home that was easy to hack. I know her schedule and I know that she has a Skype account."

She glanced at the bottom of the screen to the time. "Right now, Mei's at her office preparing for her last show."

Last show? It wasn't even 8am here. Then Moon remembered that Japan and Miami were on the opposite sides of the world, and in two different time zones. Japan was 13 hours ahead of Miami, so it was almost 9pm there.

While Skype loaded on one screen, Raven brought up her voice scrambler on a second. The third screen was split into four different views of what Moon realized was Mei's office. His ally must have hacked into their security as well. Mei was sitting at her desk in front of her computer looking over several sheets of paper that were likely her script for the 9 O'clock News.

Raven clipped her Bluetooth onto her ear and turned it on. Moon fell silent as Raven called Mei over Skype. Over the security screens, Moon saw Mei look up as her Skype paged her. She frowned and then clicked accept to the call. Humans were such a curiosity driven race.

Mei's eyes widened in shock as the screen turned white, and the word 'kira' appeared in black script. "What is…?"

"Mei Akiyama," Raven said. Her voice scrambler made her sound like Kira. "This is Kira."

"K-Kira?" Mei stuttered. Her eyes widened and a slight red colored her cheeks. "This is, this is an honor," she bowed her head.

Moon would have raised an eyebrow in admiration if he had eyebrows. It seemed Raven had done her research well.

"But," Mei frowned. "How do I know you are truly Lord Kira?"

Lord Kira? Moon laughed to himself and shook his head with amusement. Raven turned her head to glare at him momentarily.

"I presume you can call the Tokyo Prison?" Raven asked calmly.

"Yes," Mei Akiyama nodded. She wasn't sure if Kira could see her or not.

Good Raven said calmly. "Ask for Daichi Tsukino."

Mei fished her cell phone out of the purse on her desk and flipped it open. She quickly dialed, and held it to her ear. After a few seconds someone on the prison answered her.

Before she had a chance to ask anything someone called out on the prison side of the phone. "One of the prisoners just collapsed, help me out!"

Mei's hand that she held the phone with trembled as the prison guard apologized and hung up. No way. That meant, that meant that this was the real Kira!

Raven smiled, and set her head in one hand. "You can confirm later if you wish that Daichi Tsukino is truly dead."

"I believe you, my lord," Mei said quietly although she did make a note to double check for herself. If this wasn't the real Kira then she didn't want to insult the real one.

"What do you want me to do?" Mei asked firmly as she closed the phone and set it on the desk in front of her.

"I want you to become my voice," Raven ordered.

"Become the Voice of Kira?" Mei whispered. That was something she'd been dreaming of ever since Sakura TV had announced that they were.

"Yes," Raven repeated. "In fact, I have an announcement I want you to make when you go on the air for the 9 O'clock news."

"Name it," Mei said quickly. She flipped one of the sheets of paper over and picked up a pen so she could write Kira's wishes down.

Raven smiled.

* * *

Matsuda was walking along the Shibuya Scramble Crossing when one of the LED TV's suddenly lit up for the 9 O'clock news.

"This is Mei Akiyama of Channel 17," the news anchor introduced herself. "I have an important announcement to make. As of today, I have been chosen to become the new Voice of Kira."

Matsuda stopped walking and looked up at the screen. He wasn't the only one. Most of the people walking stopped and followed his lead.

"I will speak for our Lord Kira, and spread his word and glory for all to hear," Akiyama continued.

Murmurs broke out.

"No way," Matsuda whispered.

"Kira has given me a message to pass on," Akiyama flipped over the sheet she was supposed to be reading from. On the back of it was her handwriting where she had copied down word for word Kira's speech.

It became strangely quiet in the crossing, and Matsuda looked around warily. A great number of the people hear seemed to be raptly paying attention as if they were going to hear from their god. Matsuda felt a shiver go down his spine. This was creepy.

"Kira would like to honor the men and women fighting both in law enforcements and the armed forces in their struggle to protect their county. He has no wish to fight you, for you and he are working towards the same goal – a goal of a world free of crime and darkness. A world where your children and families are safe to walk the streets at night without fear. A world where the news are not cluttered with stories of robberies, shootings, and stabbings. A world where that is not considered normal." Akiyama's voice was strong and sure.

"That is side Kira fights for," Akiyama promised, "and he thanks all of you who fight for that, and who have given their lives to protect the innocent. He asks all of you now to not interfere with him, for he is not your enemy – but your greatest ally and he wishes for peace and justice just as you do."

"Near," Akiyama addressed directly, "if you are watching this then please know that you are the criminals greatest friend. By attempting to stop Kira you attempt to stop justice, and let the criminals roam free. You insult the ultimate sacrifice that many men and women have made to protect the innocent and their home. If you win, then the criminals win and they will continue to run free and unhindered. They will continue to kill, rob, and maim. Please stop fighting Kira."

Matsuda winced. Kira was making Near look like the ultimate villain. This was not good.

"That is all I Kira wishes to say," Akiyama finished. "When he has another announcement then I will relay it to you."

She closed her eyes and lowered her head for a moment to let the announcement sink in.

"Now," she continued as she flipped the paper back to the typed side. "I will relay the 9 O'clock news."

Matsuda wasn't listening. He turned and ran through the scramble crossing. Many people were starting to scatter, eager to get to their destinations and tell others of Kira's wish. It disgusted Matsuda, but intrigued him at the same time. Who was this new Kira?

Who indeed, Aizawa thought as he looked away from the TV in the police office break room. This was very bad. Sitting at the same table as him was Mogi and Ide.

"Aizawa," Mogi said quietly.

Aizawa didn't say anything out loud, but nodded. Kira had to be in the Kanto region of Japan. The Japanese Taskforce was on. They'd catch Kira, and show Near exactly what they were made of.

* * *

 **The Taskforce really wishes they're were going to capture Kira. It's too bad Kira is in Miami! Talk about a wild goose chase... Raven's plan is working perfectly. Now the Taskforce is chasing after nothing, so only Near is looking for her.**


	10. A New Shinigami

Armonia Justin Beyondormason sat on his throne of skulls. He served as the Shinigami King's right-hand man. His appearance was that of a golden skeleton adorned with all manner of jewels and jewelry.

Normally, he could handle any of the few issues that arose with the Shinigami, so the King did not need to be disturbed. Not long ago, he had told Sidoh that his missing DEATH NOTE had been stolen by Ryuk and indirectly given to Light Yagami. Sidoh had managed to retrieve it.

He had been pleased with himself on a mission well done until, just over a week ago, a new Shinigami had come saying that he had lost his DEATH NOTE. That Shinigami had been Moon, and unlike Sidoh, he had not had very much time left until his lifespan ran out.

Armonia had been wary, but under the time constraint had spoken to the Shinigami King and had gotten Moon a second DEATH NOTE. Moon had vanished an hour later, and within two his second DEATH NOTE had become the possession of a human. When that had happened, Armonia had lost all control over the situation.

He did not like losing control, and he did not like being fooled. The Shinigami King had not been pleased with Ryuk's antics before, and he did not like Moon following in his footsteps. Armonia had also been naïve enough to give Moon the DEATH NOTE despite knowing that Moon had recently spoken to Ryuk and gone to the Human World. That made it _his_ fault.

So when Armonia saw the white dragon Shinigami walking up to him with no DEATH NOTE in sight, his frustration only increased. "What do you want?"

"I am Drake," the Shinigami introduced, "and I need another DEATH NOTE."

That was the absolute last thing Armonia wanted to hear. "Another one? Don't tell me you've lost yours to. There seems to be quite an epidemic of that going on. You had best hope that there is enough of your lifespan left to find it. Now go."

Drake had not been around long, but he knew that only the Shinigami King could hand out DEATH NOTES, and he could only see the King with Armonia's permission. Although Armonia often came off as conceited, he was was quite knowledgeable and very intelligent. Now he was undoubtedly frustrated that a newbie like Moon had been able to make such a fool out of him.

A change of tactics was evidently in order. Drake reached into his duster and pulled out his DEATH NOTE. "I have not lost mine. Mine is right here."

Armonia was caught somewhat offguard by the dragon's move. "Oh? Then why do you come here asking for another?"

"I want to get Moon under control, and the only way I know to do that is to go to the Human World myself," Drake picked his words with the utmost care. "Unless we are bound by a human with a DEATH NOTE we cannot stay there for more than a handful of hours. If I want to get Moon back, I need to be able to stay longer."

Armonia apprised the white Shinigami. "You are a new one here, aren't you dragon?"

Drake didn't interrupt as Amronia thought it over. Armonia was thinking that this could be the exact thing he needed to deal with Moon's rebellion, and it was a rebellion. Moon was openly helping a human, and had by accident extended human lives.

"Why does Moon matter so much to you?" Armonia asked. He was extremely wary about trusting in Drake.

"I remember," Drake replied simply. "I remember what he made me do, and his actions have cost me dearly. He needs to be taught a lesson."

Armonia sighed and rubbed his head. "You should not dwell on your past life. That is a mistake Moon is making. I do not need two kamikaze Shinigami running around the Human World trying to kill each other to state a vendetta that should have died when they did."

The bone spurs on Drake's wrist suddenly slid out of his patchwork skin and turned into a claw blade. He stopped it before it extended past his talon fingers. Drake had one spur on each wrist, and they could extend two feet if he wanted. Their tip was pointed, and the edges connecting the different faces were as sharp as a sword. He retracted the spur back to his wrist. Attacking Armonia was the last thing he needed to do right now.

Armonia had not noticed or if he had, he pretended that he didn't. "Moon's human is going to die soon. He will have to return to the Shinigami World eventually."

No! Drake couldn't wait until then. He wanted to get payback on Moon now! What could he do to convince Armonia to trust him?

Drake took a breath out of old habit and stepped over to Armonia. He held out his DEATH NOTE to him.

"Here," he said quietly.

Armonia stared at the DEATH NOTE. When he didn't take it, Drake set it in his lap and stepped back.

"What are you doing?" Armonia asked. "This is your DEATH NOTE. Without it you can't kill humans. You will die."

"Not for a decade," Drake assured him. "You can keep that while I'm on Earth capturing Moon. That way you know I will behave myself."

Armonia had never seen a Shinigami go so far as to give up the instrument of their immortality. If Drake was willing to go so far, then it might be a good idea to play along with him and keep the DEATH NOTE. He could be dangerous if left unchecked to his own devices. Besides, if Drake truly was willing to do this then he could be trusted to go through with this.

Armonia drummed his gingers on his throne as he thought it over.

"Very well," he said after a long moment. "I shall get you a new DEATH NOTE, but I will keep yours until you return with Moon or you destroy the DEATH NOTE his human is using."

"Thank you," Drake bowed with a sweep of his tail.

At last, he could make Moon pay for what he had done.

* * *

Drake flew through the air of the Human World. He beat his white dragon wings strongly, and searched beneath him. If he confronted Raven directly then Moon might stop him. That could end badly.

Rather than head to Miami, he had decided that he the first thing to do was to learn more of the situation. His next move would be planned out from there. To that extent, he was in Japan to check in on the human who functioned as "The Voice of Kira."

He found the building where she worked at and flew through the glass wall. The inside bustled with people and security forces. Drake understood that. Despite being a Shinigami he had paid close mind to the Kira case, and understood that the people probably didn't want anything to happen to her like it had to Kiyomi Takada.

He wandered into the front lobby and saw someone showing off a police badge. The officer was a tall man with black hair, dark eyes, and a little facial hair. "My name is Kita Koji. I am an officer with the National Police Agency."

That peaked Drake's interest. His eyes told him that the officer's name was Shuichi Aizawa, but his badge said otherwise. Either he was not an officer, or he was using an alias.

"Shuichi Aizawa," Drake said to himself.

He flew between Aizawa and the man he was speaking to, looking at him curiously. Yes, if he wasn't mistaken then this was one of the men on the Japanese Taskforce who had eventually managed to hunt down Light Yagami.

Aizawa was using a falsified badge. That was a good precaution when you were going up against someone who only needed your name and face to kill you. Drake folded up his wings and landed, hovering just above the floor as Shinigami did in this realm, to hear their conversation.

"I am aware of Mrs. Akiyama's important new position," Aizawa promised the security officer. "I simply want to make sure that everything is secure. The NPA doesn't want something to happen to her like it did to Kiyomi Takda, that's all. Could you at least page her for me?"

The security guard looked doubtful, and Drake chuckled. The NPA wanted Akiyama safe, but he could tell that Aizawa didn't. He was merely acting – likely to get closer to one of the only links to Kira.

After a few seconds long internal struggle he nodded to the receptionist at the desk, and she called up Akiyama's office. The receptionist drummed her turquoise fingernails on the desk, and licked her turquoise colored lips as the phone rang.

"Mrs. Akiyama?" The receptionist said as she crossed her ankles nervously, tapping one of her turquoise stilettos on the tile floor. "There is a member of the NPA here to see you about additional security details. What do you want to do?"

The receptionist turquoise eye-shadowed eyes widened at Akiyama's response. "O-Oh, I see."

She held up a hand to the mouth of the phone and looked at the expectant Aizawa. "Mrs. Akiyama is speaking to Kira at the moment. When she's finished then you can go and see her."

"Kira!" Aizawa's stance tensed.

Drake shook his head and spread his wings again. He flew up through the floors to get to Mei Akiyama's new luxury office. There were two security guards by her door, and more on the hallway. Mei was inside, speaking to a computer screen. Curious, Drake drifted through the wall and into her office.

"Your praise honors me, Lord Kira," Mei Akiyama said with a bowed head and a delighted blush spreading across her features.

"Nonsense," a garbled voice dismissed. "I tuned into your announcement of my wishes last night. It was quite well-preformed."

Akiyama smiled brightly like a child who had just been told she could have another sweet. "Thank you, my lord. I won't fail you."

"I don't believe you will," Kira said in a confident voice. "Now, have you had any difficulties since you became my spokesperson?"

"Difficulties?" Akiyama frowned.

"Threats of attempts to harm youi," Kira exemplified. "The forces of Near have cost me two valuable allies, Takda and Yagami. I do not want you to be my third."

Akiyama felt honored by her lord's concern for her safety, even if she was just a mere human. "I have gotten plenty of fan mail. A few have been anonymous threats. I've turned those over to security."

"Good," Kira said. "Tell security that I want them to pull fingerprints from the letters to see if they can identify who sent them to you."

"You're going to kill them?" Akiyama leaned back in surprise.

"No," Kira assured her. "I am simply taking precautions. If these disbelievers are threatening you by mail, they might try something a little more direct. I want you to be safe."

Akiyama smiled. "I will inform them, my lord."

"Splendid," Kira said with a smile in his voice.

"My lord, do you have a message for me to deliver to the world?" Akiyama asked revelry.

"No, not presently," Kira dismissed. "I just wanted to make sure you were fine."

There was silence on Kira's end for a moment. "There is a matter I must tend to," he told Akiyama.

"Of course, my lord," Akiyama nodded.

The call ended, and Akiyama leaned back in her chair and relaxed. Kira was amazing.

A small matter, Drake thought scornfully. Like what?

That small matter was the fact that Raven's mother had just come home from shopping around town, and seen that the sink was still full of dirty dishes. She had called up to Raven to come downstairs and do her chores, and Raven reluctantly had to do so.

Akiyama turned off her monitor and pressed a button on her desk phone. "All right, I've finished with Kira. The officer can come up now."

Drake stood behind Akiyama's desk as she tidied up, and fixed her skirt and blouse, tugging her sky blue cardigan closer. He was curious about the coming engagement, and so waited. After a few minutes, Aizawa was escorted up by a security officer.

"Hello officer," Akiyama greeted.

"Mrs. Akiyama," Aizawa bowed his head in respect. "I am Kita Koji of the NPA, and I wanted to speak to you about extra police protection."

The conversation went back and forth along rather mundane routes. Drake paid close attention, his tail flicking back and forth like a cat's. Then Aizawa asked something interesting.

"Mrs. Akiyama," he said in an almost apologetic voice. "I mean no offense, but I am somewhat curious. Why do you consider Kira a god?"

Drake smirked at the new angle Aizawa had taken. He was trying to determine where Mei's loyalties lie exactly, and if he could break them or turn Mei against Kira. If he could then it could really help him solve the case. This angle was out of Kira's hands. It would be up to Mei Akiyama.

Mei thought about it. "When I was a child, my father was an employee of a convenience store that was robbed. The robbers killed him. Although the crook was later caught, conflicted eye-witness reports, and a broken camera that had failed to record the attack meant that he was let off with no charges against him."

Both Drake and Aizawa could tell it was not a happy memory for Mei. "The justice system means well, but more often than not it simply doesn't get the job done because it has to abide by rules and regulations. Kira is a god. He is not bound by any of our human laws, and is able to punish the evildoers without worrying about the law."

Aizawa cringed inwardly at the last comment. As long as this new Kira remained faceless there was no way for the law to punish him.

"The killer's name was Justin Wild," Akiyama announced. "He was one of the criminals Kira killed when he returned after two months of resting to restore his powers. Kira could do what the justice system can't. That's how he is – that's how a god should be. I am honored to be his link to the humans."

"Right," Aizawa said with a little bitterness. There was little chance of turning Mei against Kira. "A god."

Drake had 86 hours before he needed to go to Miami and give the blank DEATH NOTE to someone there. Once he did so he'd be stuck there, so he might as well learn as much about the situation in Japan as possible. Haunting Aizawa was a good way to do that. He decided to stay with him for now.

* * *

 **I warned you that Drake was going to come back!**

 **What did Moon do to Drake? Why does Drake, a Shinigami, hate Light Yagami, a human? Will a new Shinigami in the mix destroy Moon's plans to make Raven the Third Kira? Is everything going to go to hell before or after Raven's death? Who in Miami is going to gain custody of Drake's blank DEATH NOTE? All those answers and more in future updates.**


	11. Spelled as Moon

Raven Grayson knocked on the screen door of Amber's house. Their doorbell was broken, and they had yet to fix it. They also needed to keep the ac and heat off as much as possible so all of the windows were open to help cool off the house on this muggy day.

She bounced on her toes a bit, and glanced behind her to where Moon was sitting on the hood of her Volkswagen. He looked distinctly bored. Although he had yet to say it, Raven knew he was impatiently waiting for her to hack into Near's system. It had been over two weeks since she had found Near's location, and although she didn't know it, she only had about 12 days left to live.

Finally, Amber came to the door.

"Hi Raven," Amber smiled.

Amber was wearing a pair of silver plastic-rimmed goggles instead of her old blue ones. The swelling from her injuries had faded, although the bruises made it look like she had walked into a rainbow. Her right wrist was in a brace.

"I'm glad to see that you're up and about," Raven replied honestly. "Are those your backup glasses?"

"Yeah," Amber nervously used both of her hands and adjusted the glasses needlessly – an old nervous habit. "I can't see out of my blue ones. The prescription in these is a few years old so everything's a little blurry, but it's better than nothing."

"Do you know if you're going to get your blue glasses repaired anytime soon?" Raven asked gently.

"Probably not," Amber whispered. "Money's tight, and my sister just got turned down from a job at Macy's."

"She did?" Raven frowned, "Why? Um, before you answer that can I come in?"

Amber opened the screen door, and Raven entered. It was dim inside, and the light came mostly from the sun. Lights cost money. The two of them sat on the sofa.

"So what happened?" Raven asked curiously.

Amber shrugged. "It was because Ruby's a veteran that she didn't get the job."

Raven leaned back and blinked. "What? Are you sure?"

Amber nodded. "Ruby said that things were going fine until the hiring officer realized that she'd been in active combat overseas. He said that because Ruby had been in a war that her mindset from most people and that he couldn't see her on the sales floor. Since she's been to war, he thought that she didn't know how to approach people anymore or how to composure when someone mad was in her face."

Raven stared. This was unbelievable. Veterans were not triggerhappy morons that would use their fighting skills they had learned in the military to randomly knock someone out. If you were in a battlefield you couldn't just get into a temper tantrum, throw down your gun, and say you quit. You fought on, and kept a cool head so you and your teammates would get out alive. Some people thought they were the former though, and discriminated against them just as how people were discriminated against because of their skin color.

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Raven said flatly.

Unfortunately, Raven had heard it before. It had been the same thing for her father when he had come back home after his third deployment. People thought that for whatever he was unstable because he'd fought. He'd been fighting to protect and save innocents, and get rid of terrorists groups that threatened everyone who didn't believe in their ways.

"Ruby joined the Air Force when she was 17, and she got deployed when she was 19," Amber said quietly. "She comes back home and then she's discriminated against like this because she was willing to lay down her life to protect others in the line of duty."

Raven scooched over and wrapped an arm around Amber's shoulder comfortingly. This frustrated her.

"School starts in 15 days. There's no way I'm going to be able to get my main glasses fixed before then now," Amber laughed. It was a hallow sound.

Raven soothingly ran her fingers through her friend's hair. "My mom makes a lot of money at the hospital because she's a nurse there. Maybe she can spare some. How much will it take to get a new lens?"

"A little over a hundred," Amber whispered. "They won't replace just one lens, so we have to pay for both lenses."

"That's stupid to," Raven muttered.

She thought about something for a moment and then quietly spoke. "Do you know what the name of the sales rep was?"

"He said his name was Tony," Amber said quietly. "It was the one down on 37th Avenue."

A first name and place of work should be enough for Raven to bring up his picture once she hacked into Macy's mainframe and accessed their employee files. No, Raven scolded herself. This Tony wasn't a good guy, but she shouldn't kill him just for being a bastard.

Raven stayed with Amber for another hour, talking about inconsequential things and the upcoming senior year. Amber was still worried that her wrist wouldn't heal in time for her to play her violin. When Raven pointed out that she should be more worried about writing since she was right-handed, she got a laugh.

Eventually, Raven went back home. When she left and started up her car, Moon materialized from having wandered about – or rather perching on the roof thinking about things that Raven could only guess – and sprawled out on the backseat just like he always did.

Moon hadn't paid attention to the conversation between Raven and Amber, so he didn't understand why the human looked so frustrated. What, Moon thought, had the two girls disliked their senior classes? Raven should be more worried about exposing Near then such foolishness! She didn't even have two weeks left to live!

Before Moon had died the first time he had seen Near's real name, but he couldn't remember it. He needed to see Near again with his special eyes to get his name. Raven also needed to see a picture of Near in order for the DEATH NOTE to work. When Raven hacked Near's system finally she would get the face and Moon would tell her the name.

That would be the end of Near. In order to do that however, Raven _had to hack_ _ **his security system**_!

Raven was upset with Macy's, and Moon was upset with Raven so the drive back to Raven's house was silent. When Raven unlocked the door and got inside she saw a package sitting on the table. There was a note from her mother on the whiteboard on the refrigerator. It read:

* * *

 _"Raven, this package came in the mail for you. I don't know who it's from. I got assigned to the late shift at the last second so I won't be home. Don't wait for me. There's money on the fridge, so order some dinner for yourself._

 _Mom"_

* * *

Raven _humphed_ idly, not surprised by her mother's announcement that she wasn't going to be home. This had happened more times than she could count, but Raven understood that the hospital's schedule depended on how many patients they had. Her mom's work was important, so it was hard for Raven to be upset with her. Just like Kira, her mom was busy saving lives.

A twenty dollar bill was stuck to the fridge next to the whiteboard with a white daisy magnet. Raven took the money down and stuffed it in her short's pocket. She'd have a pizza parlor deliver something later when she got hungry.

Raven locked up the front door and then scooped up the package in her arm and went upstairs. She hung the keychain with her keys on the wall above the light switch and tossed the package onto her bed. Moon hadn't followed her and she wasn't surprised by that either. It seemed that he had been getting grumpier and grumpier of late and Raven didn't understand why.

She unclipped her switchblade from her belt and clicked the open. The metal blade had been polished last night, and it reflected off of the sunlight that filtered in from her window. Idly, Raven slashed open the tape keeping the cardboard box shut and then closed the switchblade with another click. There was a piece of paper folded in half sitting inside on top of crumpled newspaper that had served to fill the box.

Raven picked the paper up first and flipped it open. Someone had handwritten a note. It was somewhat dark in her room, so Raven pulled open the sheer lavender curtains that had been in front of her window. Sunlight poured in freely.

She held the letter up to the sunlight and swallowed when she saw the handwriting style. It wasn't written in cursive thankfully. Like most teenagers, Raven wasn't able to fluidly read cursive despite the vast majority of the adult population writing in it. This handwriting was simple to read and Raven recognized the flowing script as her father's.

Rather than read her father's message, Raven lowered the piece of wide ruled paper. She looked out the window over the city. There were oak trees to palm trees scattered about, brightly painted houses, cars – quite a few with surfboards on their roofs – and a few people walking or skateboarding.

These people knew about her father, but they had no idea of the double life Raven was living or the power she wielded. They were just normal humans, going through a normal summer. Raven wasn't though, not anymore.

Being Kira had been easy so far, but Raven knew that in a few days when she unveiled Near's identity and killed him things would become more interesting. Why had her father picked this crucial moment to speak to her?

It had been a year since that bastard up and left her and her mother. Why wait a year to say something? Raven took a breath and calmed down. She scolded herself for acting so foolish and for letting this event bother her. She hadn't even read the note yet!

Raven raised the note to the light. She should see what her dear father said first.

The note began with: " _Raven_ ,"

At least he hadn't started the letter with dear daughter or some other affectionate term that he no longer had a right to. Raven kept reading.

 _"I know that it's been a year since I left. I'm sorry for the lack of communication."_

He was sorry for not speaking to her? That should be the least of his worries.

 _"Your senior year should be coming up soon when you receive this package. It has a new slingshot for you."_

A new slingshot? Raven lowered the note and strode over to the box. She ruffled around the newspaper covered items and withdrew two packages of silver pellets to use as ammo. After that she found an extra bungee, and then finally the slingshot. It was a collapsible slingshot with a wrist brace, still in the package. From the look of it, it was strong enough to be used for hunting.

Johnathan Dorky had taught his daughter to sail, how to fight, and how to shoot. Certainly, Raven had gone with him to a shooting range and been allowed to fire her father's colt and glock and even his rifle, but she had not liked the loud crack that you got when you pulled the trigger. It had hurt her ears, so she had successfully managed to pester her father into getting her a slingshot.

Her first slingshot was a cheap wooden thing that broke from wear after only a year of use. That had been eight years ago. The second slingshot she had gotten a week later was a metal one. She had used that slingshot up until its destruction a little over a year ago.

Johnathan Dorky had thrown it away accidentally and that had been the last Raven had seen of it. She had never gotten a third one until today. Raven flipped the letter back open and kept reading.

 _"I hope you enjoy it. You always were a natural shot with one of them. I know this past year must have been hard for you, but remember that you are always my daughter. -Johnathan Dorky"_

Raven stared at the letter for a long minute and then fiercely tore it in half. She was not his daughter just like he was not her father – not anymore. The two halves fluttered to the throw carpet she stood on and landed there mournfully.

She stood there, trembling from a mixture of hate and rage. Then she dropped to her knees and stuck her head under her bedskirt. Underneath her bed was a menagerie of items ranging from a few stray socks and flipflops, to crumpled wads of paper and a dictionary. Raven moved aside a bra and found what she was looking for.

Sitting to her right was a blue brain-shaped eraser about the size of a walnut. Raven moved the eraser aside and put her fingers on the floor where the eraser had been. After a few seconds of tracing the area where the eraser was she found the catch and popped up part of the floor. About two square feet of the floorboards lifted up.

Raven had found the hidden panel under her bed five years ago, and used it to keep all of her special items. Looking under the bed, sure, many people would, but many people would see the normal and expected mess under her bed and look away. They wouldn't suspect that the floor moved.

She reached in and after a moment of shuffling around her fingers brushed against what could only be her DEATH NOTE. Touching the cover made her fingers tingle. Raven tightened her grip on it and crawled back out with it in hand.

She took a mechanical pencil off of her nightstand and opened the DEATH NOTE. It took her several seconds of flipping through pages before she found one that wasn't full of names. There were hundreds of names.

Raven had just set the tip of the pencil against an empty line when someone behind her asked, "What are you doing?"

The voice made Raven jump, and the lead of her pencil snapped off. She jumped around to face the source of the sound, dropping her DEATH NOTE and reaching for her switchblade that she had left on her bed. Standing beside her was Moon. Raven took a huge breath to calm herself when she realized it was just the Shinigami.

"What was that for?!" Raven shouted after her breath. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

Moon didn't even blink at her shouting, but then again he couldn't since he was just a skeleton and didn't have eyelids – or eyes for that matter. "The date of your death is not today."

Raven sighed and closed her eyes. "I was being sarcastic. Where have you been? On the roof again?"

Moon looked away from her, and turned his ember like eyes onto the DEATH NOTE sitting on the floor next to her. "Why are you writing down here? Don't you need your computer to look up names?"

"Not for this person," Raven promised.

She picked up the DEATH NOTE again and clicked the end of her mechanical pencil to get some lead back.

"Who is it?" Moon asked.

Raven had just written the capital 'J' down, and now stopped. "Someone who deserves Kira's judgement as much as any criminal."

Moon leaned back for a moment and then knelt down beside her. "So they're not a criminal?"

Raven had now written two more letters so it read "Joh."

"Yes they are," she said darkly. "They abandoned their family with only a note sitting on the table to tell them that they would never see him again, and then spent a year in silence. Now, a year later, he wants to pretend that it never happened and doesn't even bother to apologize when he asks for forgiveness."

Moon still didn't understand until he saw the torn halves of the note. The bottom half of the note with Johnathan Dorky's signature was lying face up. Raven had written three more letters so it read as "Johnat."

"He's not worth it," Moon said quietly.

Raven stopped in the middle of writing an 'h.' "What would you know? You're a Shinigami."

"I killed my father," Moon answered mildly. "Or rather I let him die."

Raven looked up at him in confusion, and let her grip on the pencil relax. "Shinigami have fathers?"

"No," Moon assured her cautiously.

The confusion in Raven's pale dream blue eyes only deepened. Moon didn't even know why he had interrupted her while she was writing down her father's name. He wasn't human anymore, so human things like parents didn't matter.

"Never mind," Moon sighed.

Raven waited for an answer but when one didn't appear she tightened her grip on her pencil and started rewriting the half-finished name of her father. When she got done writing the first name she stopped again.

A Shinigami was a God of Death. They wouldn't have parents, but a human would. Moon had said he had a father, something she would expect from a human.

Did this mean that her guess was right? Moon had said that those of the DEATH NOTE cannot go to Heaven or Hell when they die. Raven had assumed that it meant she would end up remaining on Earth as a ghost, but what if she went to a limbo world… like the Shinigami World?

Were Shinigami humans who had used the DEATH NOTE in their previous lives? Moon had more or less just told her that he used to be a human with a father. That proved the idea.

If he had used to be a human, then that also explained why he was so concerned about creating the New World, even if it meant breaking all of the Shinigami's rules to help Raven. A human concerned with the New World… that means that Moon was likely someone who was using a DEATH NOTE during the time of the First Kira.

Raven set the pencil down on the page and it rolled down to the gutter between the pages. Of course, it was so obvious. The reason why Moon was so fixated on eliminating Near wasn't just because he was the greatest obstacle to the New World.

It was also because Near was the one who beat him. Kira – Light Yagami – defeated and killed L, but Near beat him. He wants revenge.

Ravne forgot about her father's death for a moment as she spoke softly and strongly. "Moon."

"Hmm?" Moon asked.

Raven looked up from her paper to Moon. "Moon's not your real name, is it? You used to be human, didn't you…? Light Yagami…"

Moon whipped around to face her, jacket tugged by the breeze of the movement. He might have just a skull for a face but even without skin, lips, or eyes there was no mistaking that Raven had caught him off guard.

"How did you…?" Moon whispered.

Raven knew then that she was right. Her Shinigami ally, Moon, was the reincarnated Light Yagami.

* * *

 **Surprise! Maybe? I know to some of you that it was obvious Moon was Light instantly. For those who picked up on the fact that Light's name was spelled as Moon and that Raven's ally was the unnamed Shinigami from the relight who was strongly hinted to be Light, well done.**

 **This chapter was more backstory and then of course the fact that Moon is Light. The next chapter will increase show how being a computer geek rocks and it will have an even more interesting cliff hanger.**

 **Rather then hide her DEATH NOTE in her drawer with explosives, Raven's put hers under the floor of her bed with the eraser as a place mark. Not a bad idea, eh? It might not be as secure as Light but it'll do.** **As for the delay, blame my finals taking all my brain power so i can't think of anything good to write. If i don't have anything good to write then i won't write bad gibberish. The update will just be delayed.**


	12. Preparations and Explanations

"How did you…?" Moon whispered.

Raven knew then that she was right. Her dear Shinigami ally, Moon, was really Light Yagami.

"How do you know that?" Moon repeated.

Raven looked down at the half-written name of her father and then reluctantly snapped the DEATH NOTE shut. She could write his name down later. Right now both she and Light had some explaining to do.

"What happens to humans who own a DEATH NOTE after they die?" Raven asked.

"I think you figured that one out already," Moon – Light, replied sarcastically. "Humans who write in the DEAHT NOTE become Shinigami themselves. Shinigmai cannot go to heaven or hell. They are stuck in their world without purpose as it rots away. That is the cost of using a DEATH NOTE."

"You're a new Shinigami then, aren't you Light?" Raven smiled. "You're only two months old."

Moon would have winced had he the skin and lips on his face to do so. Being called Light grated him unexpectedly. He thought he'd have been glad to hear his old name, but he wasn't.

"There are several new Shinigami from the ' _Kira Investigation_ ,'" Moon dismissed. "They're all humans who got caught up and ended up writing something down on a page."

"Wait," Raven frowned slightly in confusion as the new statement conflicted with her thoughts. "So you're saying that _any_ human who writes in the DEATH NOTE will become a Shinigami? They don't have to own it?"

"You can tear a page out of the DEATH NOTE and still kill someone by writing on it," Moon reminded her. "A page or piece of a page has the same power as the full DEATH NOTE, and the same price. Only five people actually owned DEATH NOTE's during that time, but there are more than five new Shinigami."

Raven turned that over in her mind. Truthfully, it made sense. All power came with a price, whether you owned the power or simply borrowed it.

"Now," Moon repeated, "how do you know I used to be Light?"

"L told me," Raven answered nonchalantly and stood up.

If they lived in a cartoon world, Moon's jaw would have hit the floor. As it was, it hung open and his ember orbs of light that served as eyes bored into her.

"What did you say?" Moon said after a moment. "L? He's dead!"

"I meant that metaphorically," Raven sighed.

She dropped the DEATH NOTE onto her desk as she sat in front of her computers. The left screen was on and she went to it. Moon watched as she typed and clicked. After a moment, a file titled 'L' came up.

"L," Moon whispered.

Raven double-clicked the file and a series of files and other folders opened. She leaned back and waved a hand to the screen. Moon looked at the files in confusion.

"What is this?" He asked, wishing he knew. "What does it have to do with L?"

"These are the files from L's mainframe concerning the Kira Investigation," Raven explained. "Last week I downloaded it to my mainframe."

Moon stopped staring at the screen and now stared at her. "You what? How? Watari deleted L's information before he died."

"L's database itself was destroyed," Raven agreed, "but I found that before the database was wiped a copy of it was sent to a computer in Winchester, England along with a text that said ' _L is dead_.' The building in Winchester had the full database, so once I hacked into them I was able to copy everything L had sent. Thus you see the files before you."

"England?" Moon said blankly. "Why England? What's there?"

"An orphanage called Wammy's House," Raven answered. "That's where L's download was sent."

Wammy's House? Where had Moon heard that name before? Then he remembered it from the information Near had given them when the SPK and Jpaanese Taskforce had been working together in the Kira Investigation.

"Wammy's house," Moon repeated. "That's an orphanage Watari set up to raise L's successor. Near and Mello are from there. So L sent his heirs his information. That's why Near knew I was Kira from the start. Even after I had Rem kill him, L was able to pass word to his successors. Damn Watari."

"Technically," Raven corrected. "You should be upset with Quillsh Wammy. He's the man that created Wammy's House and brought an orphan boy named Lawliet to it."

"Who are they?" Moon frowned.

"Quillsh Wammy went by the alias Watari," Raven admitted. "Lawliet was known as L."

Moon jerked away from the computers. He looked as stunned as when she had revealed she knew he used to be Light.

"You know L's real name," Moon whispered.

"Not quite," Raven corrected. "Lawliet was L's family name. His first name started with an L, but I don't know it as of yet. L Lawliet. I told you earlier that I hate mystery novels because I have really bad deductive skills, remember?" Raven asked.

"Yes." Moon did.

"The reason why I was able to piece everything together is because of these files," Raven waved a hand at the screen lazily. "I didn't have to draw my own mistaken conclusions. I simply read what L had written and the evidence he'd laid out in preparation for a court hearing. Like Near, I merely took advantage of L's intelligence. In the end, L was right Light."

"Moon," Moon corrected suddenly. "My name is Moon now, not Light."

"You don't want to be called Light?" Raven tilted her head at him curiously. "Why not?"

"The human named Light Yagami was both arrogant and naïve, the worst combination," Moon said bitterly. "Although L could not prove Light was Kira, his suspicion and reasons were passed to Near through the files you copied. That's how Near knew so assuredly that he was Kira. Light was overconfident to the point where he truly believed himself a god and that he did not need a back-up plan. He got shot for it – several times."

Raven was surprised at how hard he was being on himself, but nodded. "All right, Moon then."

"Now why have you been wasting time sifting through L's download when you should be cornering Near?" Moon demanded suddenly as if eager to change the subject.

Raven's dream blue eyes locked onto Moon's crimson ones. There was not the least bit of fear in those eyes. To her, Moon was an ally. It never crossed her mind that Moon might betray her, or let her die when her death date came to pass in 12 days. Naïve, just as Light had been, but that was how most humans were.

"As I've already established, you are Light Yagami. You were the first Kira, "Raven pointed out. "L gathered a huge amount of data on you, and I figured it was in my best interest to learn as much about my new _ally_ as possible."

All right, maybe Raven wasn't quite as naïve as Moon thought. "I understand how you knew I was human and why you are so sure that Light was Kira, but how were you so sure that _I_ used to be Light? What proof did you have of the connection?"

"Your name for one thing," Raven pointed out obviously. "In Japanese, Light Yagami's name is pronounced as _light_ but spelled with the character for _moon_. Moon happens to be your name."

"That can't have been enough," Moon scoffed.

"It wasn't," Raven agreed. "Until you told me Shinigami are former humans. For a Shinigami, you are particularly obsessed with creating the New World and killing Near, the human who defeated and exposed Light Yagami. Why would a Shinigami care about such a human matter, unless there was a connection?"

"The connection was that you two were one and the same. Your name and obsession makes sense when I tie you to Light Yagami, Moon." Raven tapped her fingers on the cover of DEATH NOTE. "You didn't drop this to continue Ryuk's play because you were bored. You wanted to finish what you started, dead or alive."

Moon stared at her and then started laughing. Raven's neutral if confident expression faded to be replaced by confusion. Why was Moon laughing?

"What's so funny?" Raven asked.

"You," Moon shook his head. "All this time you say that you would be no match for L because you cannot do this detective stuff of drawing conclusions from minimal evidence, and yet you just have. You have been severely underestimating yourself."

"I-I guess," Raven said. "It wasn't that big of a jump though. L laid out everything very clearly, and from the way you've been acting it was obvious once I knew Shinigami are former humans…"

"No," Moon disagreed. "You are good. I was wary at first, but your cyber skills have proven to be an asset rather than a distraction. The more pressure you are put under, the clearer and better thought-out your plans become."

Raven shook her head somewhat frantically. "You're giving me too much credit. All I'm doing is remembering my training. A good actress needs to be able to maintain her calm and say her lines no matter how bad things go on stage. That's all I'm doing here."

"If I was half as humble as you then Near never would have caught me," Moon sighed. "I was such a fool as a human. It's odd how dying can make everything so clear."

Raven was surprised. Moon was not acting like the Light Yagami L had outlined. She supposed that he wasn't Light anymore, he was Moon. Light's belief that he was never wrong and astounding overconfidence had vanished after his disgraceful death. Unlike Light, Moon had learned his faults and his lesson.

"You've done more in half a month then I did in four years," Moon shook his head sadly at his insolence.

"It's because you killed L. Near's more of a child, and he's not used to his opponent fighting in Cyberspace," Raven shrugged away and started closing L's database. "I can handle him."

"Your scatterdrop program proved that," Moon admitted.

"Scattershot," Raven corrected. "I'm not a detective. L did all of the work, and I simply found his information. I don't even understand why I'm defending myself. This came is going to be over this Tuesday."

"This Tuesday?" Moon leaned back in confusion. "What happens in two days?"

"Near's Death."

Those two words made Moon snap his spine straight in shock. "You're finally going to reveal him? If you can get me his picture then I can tell you his name."

Moon's sudden excitement amused Raven and pulled her out of her fluster. "I just need the two more days. Then my virus to get into strike position and then the show can begin."

"Virus?" Moon asked. "What virus?"

"A computer virus I wrote up," Raven explained. "I put it in Near's mainframe when I first found out the location of his HQ. Throughout this month it's been feeding me information from not only Near's mainframe, but the entire computer system of Interpol. At the moment, it's weaving itself into every aspect of their computer systems to allow me instant access without the risk of being revealed. In two days, it will be fully integrated."

"That's why you've been waiting," Moon mimicked a tired sigh. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"If I did then I'd have to explain to you about my virus, a combination of the Stuxnet and Agent .Btz worms in virus form along with some coding of my own. Trying to explain it to someone who knows nothing would be a pain for both parties." Raven replied mildly. "Besides, you didn't ask."

Moon glared at her and that made Raven laugh.

"Don't take offense Moon," Raven said mildly. "Your skills just aren't Cyberspace aligned. You're a super detective like L or Sherlock Holmes."

"Are you sure this virus-worm thing will work?" Moon asked warily, still a little disgruntled from how Raven had dismissed him as not able to understand.

"Yes," Raven said confidently. "When I make my announcement in two days, Near is going to hear. He'll realize I've gotten past his firewalls, but by then he'll only have forty seconds to live. It won't matter."

Raven's virus had been implanted in Interpol's mainframe, and it had taken it over. By extension all of the networks connected to Interpol had also become infected. That meant all of the police and intelligence agencies who were a part of Interpol were now at the mercy of her virus, every single one. In two days she would have complete control over everything.

Moon didn't say anything more so Raven powered down the monitor. She assumed the conversation was at an end so she pushed back her chair and stood up.

"You're strange," Moon said suddenly.

Raven paused with her fingers on the cover of her DEATH NOTE. "Strange?"

"Yes," Moon turned away and opened his bone wings to take off. "But you're not bad."

Raven lifted her head in surprise and turned to face him. She turned just in time to see Moon fly up through the ceiling of her room. No doubt he was going back onto the roof to brood again. Moon had never said anything like that before.

She looked back down to the DEATH NOTE her hand was resting on. Moon was willing to wait the two days for Near's death, so she could afford to be patient with her father. It only seemed right that both of them, being partners in crime, had their victory at the same time.

This game of gods had gone on for four years, ever since Light Yagami had picked the DEATH NOTE up from the lawn of his High School. One way or another, this would end in two days. If Near won then Kira was evil, but if Kira won then he was justice. Kira would soon be justice.

* * *

 **I understand that Light is kind of an OC here in some points, but Light was a moron as a human. He was a genius, but he was also an overconfident ditz who got shot by _Matsuda_. One could say that Light's learned his lesson, and you could also say that Light and Moon _are_ two different people.**

 **The next chapter is going to timeskip two days, so it will take place Tuesday for Raven's announcement. I wonder what Near's going to do, and what Drake will. Neither want Moon and Raven to win. Hmm...**


	13. Kira's Announcement

One of the screens in the new Special Provision for Kira headquarters was turned off as Channel 7's Monday news ended. The people inside the new SPK office resumed their work and Near started to arrange the dolls scattered on the floor around him. Mei Akiyama had appeared on the news with another announcement from Kira.

Her announcement had been similar to the last one. She had pleaded with Near again to stop helping the criminals and to work as an ally of Kira. Kira had once more thanked the police forces worldwide for helping him create a New World where those who were good were free of fear of being abused by others. Just as before, her announcement form Kira had spoken about veterans.

This time, it had been more direct and said that the veterans were heroes who should be respected and cared for once they returned home instead of being forgotten about because bureaucrats believe it would 'cost too much' and cut into _their_ private funds. Rather than stocking up money to build new hangers at the airport and filling them with jets, bureaucrats should be doing something with that money that was worthwhile.

Near was curious about why Kira kept hitting on the issue of veterans. He must have come from a veteran family, and the veterans in his family must have been forgotten or ignored as often happened. If Near could narrow down what wars that veteran had fought in then he could narrow in on Kira. Kira had specifically mentioned _Operation: Desert Storm_ , an operation during the Gulf War that went from August 2, 1990 to February 28, 1991 in his latest announcement and that gave him a point of reference.

"Heh," Stephen chuckled as he looked at the profile of Mei Akiyama that the SPK had generated of her. "Kira sure does pick beautiful spokeswoman. First Takada and now Mei. I'm not sure which one's more of a goddess."

Mei Akiyama was beautiful and only 22 years old. The picture of her showed her long raven black hair parted in the middle. For the left side of her face, her hair was swept out of her eyes and clipped out of the way by a hairclip shaped like a hummingbird. Bright and extremely rare bottle green eyes peered out from beneath the bangs that half covered the right side of her face.

"Mr. Gevanni," Near said as he twirled the lock of hair. "Instead of admiring Kira's spokesperson, bring up a list of all United States soldiers deployed during _Operation: Desert Storm_."

"Desert Storm?" Anthony Rester frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"F-Kira mentioned it," Near said. He was used to having to explain himself by now. "I find it strange that F-Kira is so focused on the issue of veterans being treated right. It is safe to assume that F-Kira is, or is close to a veteran from that operation that has not been treated justly since their return. That means that you can neglect the names of soldiers who were killed in action or are still missing. From his focus on veterans, include do those who are no longer on active service."

"Y-yeah," Stephen stuttered.

"Bring up the names of the soldiers and their immediate family," Near finished. "We'll start from there and narrow the list down. For now only include the veterans who live in or have immediate family in Florida."

"Florida," Rester understood that one. "F-Kira's first kills were in Florida. You still think he's based there?"

"Yes," Near said. "F-Kira will be among that list."

* * *

 _Two Days Later_

* * *

Drake watched as Shuichi Aizawa ate dinner with his family. This was boring. Although the Japanese Taskforce had been crucial on the defeat of Light Yagami they had had the help of first L and then Near. On their own they were incompetent.

Mei Akiyama was going to give nothing away so Drake saw no reason to stay in Japan. He left the family and walked through the wall outside to spread his white dragon wings. Unlike most Shinigami who had long and narrow wings, Drake's wingspan was small. They were wide however, and the huge wings went from his ears down to his knees.

Drake took off and flew under the moon. It was a clear and cloudless Monday night, and Drake flew under the light of a sea of stars and a full moon. Flying was so peaceful. He pitied those who could not share in this simple pleasure that all Shinigami had access to.

This was the one thing about being a Shinigami that he loved. He still longed to be human, but he had been killed several years ago during the Kira Incident. Kira, Light Yagami, Moon. It mattered not what name he went by, Drake would destroy him for what he had done.

The first step to that was destroying the DEATH NOTE that kept Moon bound here. Without it, Drake could drag Moon back to the Shinigami World and force him to stand trial in front of the Shinigami King for the rules he had freely and repetitively broken. The Kira Incident that Ryuk started would finally be over.

Was that what Drake really wanted though? Did he really want to stand by and watch someone enact his revenge? No, Drake wanted Moon all to himself. He'd get rid of Moon's human and then go straight for him.

Since this was Light Yagami, Drake doubted that he would allow himself to die. Light Yagami freely used and killed people without a second thought. He would not turn to dust just to save Raven. That meant Drake had no easy way to kill Moon.

Drake knew what very few Shinigami did however. He knew that while you could kill Shinigami, Shinigami could also feel pain. Since his opponent couldn't die, the injuries could keep being inflicted and the pain level would keep rising.

Drake knew because he had tried to kill himself quite a bit these past few years. He had never managed it, but had learned exactly how to hurt a Shinigami. The bone spike on his right wrist grew into a claw from anticipation. Moon was going to pay.

He flew strongly in the night air. The wind was strong enough that he was able to extend his wings and glide without any effort on his part. It would take the better part of the night to reach the United States and the new SPK headquarters. Drake wasn't entirely sure why he was going there but from what Armonia had told him and what he himself had observed, Near might be worth tailing.

Giving Near the DEATH NOTE tucked into his jacket might be the wisest course of action to ensure Moon was brought down. Drake would simply tell Near that Raven was the human. They'd detain her, and force Moon to write her name in his DEATH NOTE to avoid being trapped in prison with her. Once free of her Drake would step in. It sounded like a good plan.

It was almost noon on Tuesday by the time Drake reached the building. The United States had officially disbanded the Special Provision for Kira many months ago, but Near and the other three humans who had survived still independently to solve cases. With the return of Kira they had resumed their original goal of stopping him, or her rather since Kira was a girl.

The building was awhirl when he entered and stood near a desk. One of the humans present walked through Drake carrying a hefty stack of papers. Drake growled at them and half-opened his wings in irritation before refolding them onto his back. Humans couldn't see him, so he was wasting his time.

The human walked to another human sitting on the floor. Papers were already scattered around him, and he was twisting around a lock of curly white hair intently as he looked over the papers. Drake knew that was Near. All he needed to do was drop the DEATH NOTE in front of Near. Near would touch it and Drake would then be able to speak to him and tell him about Raven. He reached inside his duster to take out the DEATH NOTE.

"Here you go Near," the human with the stack of papers said.

They knelt down and set the papers in front of him. Near said thank you quietly and started laying out the papers. Drake withdrew the DEATH NOTE and walked over to stand next to Near. He held it out to drop it in front of the child.

There was a spectacular bang, and both Near and Drake looked up to the source of the sound. One of the humans, a male with black hair and light blue eyes, had leaned back too far in his chair and it had flipped over on him. Him, the chair, and the papers that had been on his desk were now scattered on the floor.

"Stephen," Rester snapped.

Stephen winched and sat up. "Oops."

"Idiot," Hal muttered.

Stephen ignored Hal and started picking up the papers that had been scattered from his fall. He, Hal, and Near had been overlooking the profiles from the soldiers that Near had specified earlier. The work had been boring for Stephen, but he hadn't meant to tip the chair that far back.

Drake knelt by one of the pieces of paper. It said Lieutenant Johnathan Dorky. Under that was a picture of a wife and daughter. Had the humans been able to see him they would have heard his shocked hiss. There was no death date on the picture of the daughter named Raven. His information was correct. Raven was the new Kira.

Drake shook his head and tucked the DEATH NOTE back into his jacket. Giving this DEATH NOTE to Near and then watching him was the same as bringing Moon to the Shinigami King and letting _him_ punish Moon. This was Drake's revenge and he'd do this himself. That didn't mean that he couldn't help Near out a little to help increase the pressure against Raven. The more pressure most people were under, the more liable they were to make mistakes.

Stephen reached over to pick up the paper with Raven on it and Drake slid it away from him with his tail. It fluttered across the room and landed right in front of Near on top of the papers he was looking at. Near's eyes shifted from the profile he was reading to the paper that had landed in front of him. He glanced up at Stephen, but Stephen was staring at the paper.

"The paper just flew away," Stephen blinked.

Near looked back down at the paper. Drake slid it slightly closer with his tail and was rewarded with seeing Near's stare increase. When Near leaned forward, Drake let Near brush against his tail and then stepped back.

Near didn't move. What was that? He was sure he had just touched something. There was a leathery rustle beside him and Near whipped around. No one was in sight.

"Near?" Rester asked. "What is it?"

Near didn't reply. There was someone here, but whoever they were was invisible. Leathery wings? Humans didn't have wings… but Shinigami did. There was another Kira, so was this his Shinigami?

He looked over the paper. If he was right, then why had the Shinigami shown him this particular profile? Was it a hint? Surely Kira's Shinigami wouldn't want him to find who Kira was? So this was just a distraction?

He started to lower the paper, and Drake tsskd. Drake flicked his tail and cut a tear in the paper a few inches long next to Raven's name. Near leaned back as the tear appeared. So there was a Shinigami present and it had just torn the paper.

Apparently the Shinigami didn't want him to put the paper down, and could make himself corporeal enough to interact and cause damage in the Human World. It could just as easily slash open Near's throat as tear the paper. Near supposed that it was a god of death he was dealing with, so being becoming invisible was a reasonable ability for it to have.

Raven, Near read the name next to the tear. A daughter, age 18, in her last year of high school. Johnathan Dorky was the name of the soldier here. He had served in _Desert Storm_ and had left the country a year ago, abandoning both his daughter and wife for a mistress from an affair. Apparently he had been diagnosed with PTSD, but because resources for veterans returning from war were so scarce it had gone untreated.

This explained Kira's fixation on veterans. Did the Shinigami jut tell me who Kira is? Why would it do that if it's on Kira's side? Does it want to get rid of him, or is it a different Shinigami?

Drake could tell that Near's reputation was not exaggerated. He was as clever as L, and had already figured out that not only was there a Shinigami but that it was a neutral one. There, Drake was certain that was hint enough. The humans could deal with Moon's human, and Drake would be able to deal with Moon himself. He tucked the new DEATH NOTE back into his coat.

Drake was about to walk around Near's headquarters and see how much information they had gathered when every screen in the room suddenly turned white. The word 'kira' appeared on every screen in black flowing script. He stepped back and turned around.

What was this? Kira? Moon!

"I am Kira," Raven said strongly as she adjusted the Bluetooth clipped to her ear.

Her DEATH NOTE was sitting in front of her and a pencil was next to it. Moon stood at her shoulder, ready to tell her Near's name once he appeared. The virus was finished, and Raven was ready. Near was about to die.

* * *

 **Near himself might be in trouble. He escaped being killed by Light and Misa last time because Sakura TV messed up and went for the money. This time there is no middle man, and the cameras are on the inside so here is a question: will Near be able to survive these next 40 seconds?**

 **Yep, Drake is a character from the DEATH NOTE anime who has been brought back as a Shinigami, but which one? I've already had a few guesses, but I won't say if they've been right or wrong. Readers, I challenge you to leave a review, and in that review, tell me who you think Drake is. Try to give me a reason with the guess. This is based on the Anime since I have not ready much of the manga, so keep that in mind when you think who Drake could be.**

 **Remember, there were three DEATH NOTE's active during the main story arc, and according to the Wikipedia 5 people owned a DEATH NOTE during that time, so there are already assured to be five new Shinigami. Many who did not own a DEATH NOTE also wrote in one at some point, and they are candidates also.**

 **Let's see who, if anyone, can guess right.**


	14. The Fight Has Just Begun

All over the world, every computer and TV screen lit up white. Black script spelled out the word 'kira.'

Raven's DEATH NOTE was sitting in front of her and a pencil was next to it. Moon stood at her shoulder, ready to tell her Near's name once he appeared. The virus was finished, and Raven was ready. Near was about to die.

Of course, Raven couldn't give that fact away until his name was safely written down. Thanks to her virus, her message would be heard on every TV and every computer screen worldwide. Near had to be wondering how he could see her message despite the firewalls around SPK's mainframe and that would make this all the more fun.

"I am Kira," Raven announced strongly, raising her hands as she fell into Kira's character. "Today, I bring grand news to all of my loyal followers."

Moon snickered at Raven's melodramatic tendencies as she lowered her hands to the keyboard. One by one, she brought down all of SPK's firewalls until she had direct access to their security system.

"I present to you, my most hated enemy, the human responsible for the death of Light Yagami," Raven tapped her keyboard and brought up the video feed form the SPK's headquarters. "Say hello, Near."

Near sat straight in shock as the image on the screens vanished, and the word 'kira' was replaced by the live feed from his HQ. He was on TV. The other members of SPK looked up at the monitors that they were now on as well, and then scrambled to get out of the viewing area.

Raven looked at Near's young body as he calmly sat on the ground, a train track at his feet. Moon hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that Near was young, but she knew she didn't have a choice but to kill him. Near stood slowly, looking directly at one of the cameras.

"What's his name Moon?" Raven asked the Shinigami at her shoulder while she temporarily muted the audio on her Bluetooth.

Her pencil was on the page of her DEATH NOTE, ready to write Near's real name down once Moon's eyes told her what it was. Moon didn't say anything though. When Raven looked away from the monitor and up to Moon, she say that his ember like orbs that functioned as eyes were locked on the screen. He looked badly shocked.

"Moon!" Raven repeated loudly without removing her hand from the Bluetooth that kept her words from being transmitted.

"I-" Moon stuttered, hesitating in his response.

Raven was surprised by Moon's hesitance and repeated in a much louder voice. "Light Yagami! _What_ is Near's name?"

"I can't see it!" Moon shouted back at her and jerked his head away. "I can't see his name!"

Raven tilted her head back so she could look at Moon in equal surprise, but he didn't seem to be lying from his distress.

"Damn it! Why can't I see his name?" Moon shouted and slammed one of his skeleton hands against the surface of Raven's computer desk.

There was a beeping noise from one of her other computer monitors, and Raven turned back around to look at it. Thanks to her virus, the facial recognition program she had… _borrowed_ from the CIA's mainframe had gained access to the FBI's records and identify the three people with Near at SPK. Their names were Anthony Cater, Stephen Loud, and Halle Bullook and their pictures showed up on her second screen with their names.

Since Moon was still staring at Near's picture like a moron, Raven took advantage of the chance to write the three new names she had in the DEATH NOTE. She lowered her hand from the Bluetooth so what she said would be transmitted as she finished writing the names. Another look at Moon, but he was still shaking his head, unable to comprehend why he couldn't see Near's name.

"Oh?" She asked, improvising quickly. "How odd."

Near didn't understand what she meant until one by one, the other three SPK members started to gasp or clutch at their chests and drop to their knees. Kira was killing the other members. Why wasn't he falling to his knees?

"There's a Shinigami with him!" Moon shouted suddenly.

Raven straightened and focused on the screen where Near was. She couldn't see anything, but she trusted Moon's eyes. Did Near have his own a DEATH NOTE? If he did then that might explain why Moon couldn't read his name.

The field had turned against her, and Raven thought quickly to keep from being made a fool.

"I wonder Near," Raven mused in a calm voice, "who, or what are you? Near is obviously an alias and I wonder if the name Lucifer isn't better suited for you."

Moon could hear what Raven was saying, but it wasn't sinking in. He could see the characters above Near's head for his name and date of death, but the characters for both were hopelessly blurred. Why were they blurred?

Then he hissed when the white dragon-like Shinigami standing behind Near looked up at the camera where Moon was staring in amusement. Whoever he was he had his white dragon-like wings wrapped protectively around Near. The smug look on the dragon Shinigami's face when he realized Near wasn't going to be dying of a heart attack any time soon. Who was he?

Lily, cleaning up the counter at her aunt's ice cream parlor, had stopped her work. Her older brother Jacob and his friends stopped by the parlor and now stopped eating the ice cream they had ordered. All of them were staring at the TV at the ice cream parlor.

Outside, Peter Griffin were looking intently at one of the TV screens on the boardwalk. Cody had his skateboard tucked under one arm and was looking at Amber's phone as he stood beside her, one of several skaters crowded around her at the park.

"What's going on?" Cody whispered.

"Can't Kira just kill him?" Lily asked her brother back at the parlor, but he could only shake his head in confusion.

"What does he mean by Lucifer?" Peter muttered to himself.

"You must be someone of equal power for me to not be able to kill you," Raven said calmly in an irritated but unsurprised tone that echoed throughout the world, "Near."

"Not able to…" Amber whispered.

"Who is he?" One of the skaters with Cody and Amber demanded.

"Come on Kira," Lily rooted. "Kill him!"

"I don't think he can," Jacob warned his sister. "Near must be like Lucifer, a god similar to Kira."

"Near's another god," Cody said seriously, "but an evil one. He's just making himself look human."

"No wonder Near was able to kill Kira's helpers like Light Yagami and Kiyomi Takada," Amber sighed.

"Lucifer, eh?" Peter Griffin chuckled. "Now it makes sense."

Underneath Near's picture that was now being shown worldwide, Raven made the address of his Headquarters appear in white letters.

"An address?" Amber said when the words flashed onto her phone. "Hey, one of you guys map it!"

The other skaters with her had set their phones aside so they wouldn't break them by accident if they wiped out, but one of the skaters now ran to his backpack and jerked his phone free.

Lily's brother turned the screen of his phone sitting next to him on, and punched up Google so he could map the address.

Peter fished his phone out of his swim trunks and curiously opened the search function.

All of the world, many other people were doing the same thing. Whispering about Near being like Lucifer, the enemy of Kira, the God of Justice. Others mapped the address Kira displayed: 1111 Warren St, New York, NY 10007.

Near had no idea that his location been found out, nor did he realize the implications of Kira comparing him to Lucifer. That realization would come later.

"You call me a devil, do you Kira?" Near challenged strongly, unaware that his words were the wrong ones.

He looked at the bodies of his three associates and for the first tone in a long time he felt true anger coursing through his veins. "I am not the devil judging others on his whims. You are the one who is doing that, and you are the one who must fall. That is a promise I assure you I will keep."

"So you'll destroy me Near," Raven said with a quiet chuckle in an almost seductive purr. "You have killed humans whom I've given my power to, but killing me will not be so simple. Near, or whatever name you're going be, from one immortal to another, I wish you luck in the fight to come. This is going to be fun. After all, in a game like this, only one of us will survive long enough to win."

Raven tapped on the keyboard and abruptly the image of Near's face vanished. The word 'kira' was emblazed on the screens in its place, and a few seconds later the normal transmission resumed. Humans around the world were left string at whatever screen they had been watching, and Near himself lowered his head and slowly knelt to the ground amid the bodies of his friends. What was with this new Kira?

Once the transmission ended, Raven set the Bluetooth on the table and swiveled her wheeled chair to face Moon. "Moon. What happened?"

"The characters were blurred," Moon whispered, "unreadable."

Raven tssked, and turned back to the monitor with the facial recognition program on it. She put a copy of Near's face into the system, and then told it to search through all the databases, including the restricted ones made available to her through her virus. An extra order set up her third computer monitor to profile Near through his image for statistics like his height, weight, age, and other things that might help pin down his real name. More likely than not Near's real name was going to be L's, and not in Cyberspace at all.

"Does he own his own DEATH NOTE?" Raven asked without looking up from setting up the searches. "You said there was a Shinigami with him. Could they have been the guardian of his DEATH NOTE, like how you're the guardian of mine?"

"No," Moon shook his head. "That's not it at all. If a human owns a DEATH NOTE their death date vanishes, but their name remains clear as ever. Near had both his name and death date, but they were simply too blurred to read."

"So if it's not a DEATH NOTE, then what stopped you from giving me Near's name?" Raven asked seriously.

"The first one that comes to mind with enough power to do something like that is the Shinigami King," Moon whispered, and they sighed. "I guess I've been breaking too many rules recently and he decided to scold me for it."

"If you get another picture of Near, do you think his name will be blurred out again?" Raven asked seriously and leaned back.

Moon looked at the monitors with Near's pictures on them as her programs ran, but just like before the letters were unreadable. "They still are."

Raven realized where he was looking and rubbed her temple. "I guess I'm going to have to start with my ID programs and work from there. It looks like we're going to have to find his name through old fashioned detective work instead of just using your eyes as a shortcut."

"Why aren't you more frustrated by this?" Moon demanded with a snarling hiss. "The Shinigami King has never pulled rank and interfered with us while we've been on Earth – never! It might not even be him. How are so calm?!"

"Two reason," Raven said quietly, "no, three."

Moon crossed his bone arms over the bone plate on his chest and stared at her.

"As I've said before," Raven explained first. "I do have some training in dealing with unexpected bad luck like this. When I was in elementary school I would always be sent to the principal's office because I would beat up all the boys who would tease me. My temper was horridly out of control, and I didn't have any friends. Sometime late in fifth grade, I realized that I'd better learn how to calm down. Bullies like it when you show emotions to their taunts, and even though my principal knew I was only hurting the bullies he was starting to lose patience with me. Ever since then my temper has always been well-controlled, and even if I'm frustrated I don't show it much."

Moon huffed and let his temper relax a little, "you were always beating up the boys. I can kind of see you doing that."

Raven blushed slightly and moved onto her second point. "Things have also been going so smoothly so far with Kira, so I'm not surprised that something's gone wrong. It's really been too easy, and I was expecting something like this. It's not like we're done though. We're going to get more chances to kill Near."

"Fair enough," Moon looked away. "As you put it, this fight has only just begun. What about your third point?"

"I was able to take advantage of the problem," Raven said quietly and closed her DEATH NOTE. "Not only were we able to kill three of his allies, we were able to expose his appearance and location. That gives me a definite advantage over him. He also played along with my words without meaning to."

"Meaning?" Moon probed.

"Improv is my specialty," Raven reminded Moon. "I called Near Lucifer, and he said he was going to kill me. He's playing into the role of Lucifer which will assure public support will be against him. You know how religion is. It doesn't matter if it's Satan from Christian mythology, Loki from Norse mythology, or Shiva from Buddhism, for every god there is a devil. I am the god, and I've managed to play Near into the role of the devil."

Moon was listening intently, and Raven smiled as she turned the new point over in her mind.

"By claiming Near is also an immortal like me I have now explained why he was able to kill humans like Light which I claimed earlier were under my protection," Raven leaned back in her chair. "It clears my name, and at the same time, I've made the _Kira religion_ more realistic by having Near accept the role of the devil."

"Because there's always a devil," Moon murmured.

When he thought about all the religions he knew he realized she was right. Whether it was polytheistic or monotheistic, an active religion or mythology, there was always someone playing the devil's role. By putting Near in that position she was saying that he wasn't even human and so not deserving of a human's mercy.

It cleared up several issues that Kira's followers had to be wondering about, like the fact that a mere human could kill Kira's chosen speaker. Really, Raven hadn't lost anything. She had gained so much, and she would have another chance. For ten more days until her lifespan ended, she would be able to strike at Near again. They had failed to learn Near's name, but this was still a perfect play.

Moon realized something and raised his head from his thoughts. "Raven, you're making Light Yagami Kira's messiah, aren't you? His chosen speaker and ambassador to the humans."

Raven smiled. "That was what I was going for. In many religions, especially monotheistic ones, the god sually appoints a human to pass on his glorious words. Takda was not Kira's "messiah" though, merely an ally of the true speaker of Kira, God of Justice."

"Me," Moon shook his head.

He admired Raven's irony, and was a little touched by her actions. It was the best way for Raven to explain Light Yagami without contradicting her current story, and at the same time show him some honor for being the one to create Kira. In the distant future, if the Kira religion lived on, the truth about Light Yagami being the first Kira would be lost, but Light Yagami would be remembered.

Raven smiled when Moon realized what she had done, and she tipped her head to him in a slight bow. "Assuming the Kira religion outlives me, you'll pass on my DEATH NOTE to a new Kira and stay with them as you stayed with me. You might have been killed when you were Light Yagami, but in a way, you'll always be Kira. It's only fair that you be remembered."

Moon couldn't smile convincingly with only a skull and no skin, but he seemed to be doing that to Raven. Raven giggled at his surprise, and picked up her DEATH NOTE to return it to its hiding place under her bed.

"Anyway," Raven said as she knelt by her bed. "I've done my part. My followers now have his address and should believe that he's the equivalent of the devil. If I'm right, they'll go after him for me."

The only one of her monitors not currently working on Near's identity brought up a box at a sudden news flash. Raven had ducked under the bed, but Moon turned towards the source. It was a news bulletin. Near's headquarters in New York were under attack.

"That was fast," Moon whispered as Raven hid the DEATH NOTE and stood back up.

"So it was," Raven smiled. "I think I might have managed to work some of them into a mindset seen during the days of the Crusades. I've given them quite a tantalizing target, and to think that after all that Near said he would kill me. He should have picked his words a little neater."

"He's not L," Moon agreed.

Moon's manner became serious when he thought back to the dragon Shinigami with Near. Who was that? He didn't know, but he had a bad feeling that whoever they were, they weren't just going to watch the fight between Raven and Near. No doubt, they'd be in it. Since they'd been standing with Near, it was safe to assume they would be on Near's side.

Whoever he was, he was an enemy of Moon and of Kira. This fight had just begun, and it had just become a little more interesting.

* * *

 **First off, i want to say do not get mad at me for referencing religion or characters from religions. I do not mean to offend anyone and i do not want to offend anyone. By referencing religions i am not saying that any one religion is better or worse, right or wrong. The references are made to enhance the quality and plot of a _fictional_ story.**

 **As for the story, i'm afraid i won't be able to reveal Drake's identity quite yet. The next chapter will be told from Near and Drake's POV so perhaps there will be some details in it that will allow you to guess just who Drake is.**

 **I also like Raven's plan of making Near not human. If he's the devil then surely there's no harm in him being hunted and killed for the glory of your god. From the sentences written from the other people in the story and their comments you can see how this is going for Raven.**

 **Someone commented that Drake can't be** **Soichiro** **Yagami because he never finished writing Mello's name in a DEATH NOTE. This is true, but he made the eye deal with Ryuk to gain the eyes of a Shinigami.**

 **Isn't that the same as borrowing a god's power? Like writing a name in a torn out page of the DEATH NOTE you don't own? Shouldn't making the eye deal therefore have the same outcome for the human?** **I'm not saying** **Soichiro** **is or is not Drake, but it is something to think about.**


	15. Raid on the SPK

Near stood in the center of the SPK headquarters, watching the deactivated monitors scattered across the room. He had been played again, and had clearly lost. This was different from his fight against Light. He had known from L's information that Light was Kira, and it had been a simple matter to deduce that Light was posing as the Second L and to convince the members of the Japanese Taskforce of the fact.

This time however he didn't know. He had begun to narrow down the list of possible Kira suspects but there were still hundreds if not thousands of names to go through, and it looked like his work had come to a halt. As if Near wasn't in a bad enough position the security system of the building starting ringing and a security alert appeared on one of the computer monitors. Near stepped over Hal Linder's body to bring up details of the alert and pictures of the area around the building suddenly filled the screens.

There was a mob outside comprised of people who had been walking on the streets and lived or worked nearby. Kira's denouncement of him as a metaphorical devil had clearly had an impact on his followers. Already the building was surrounded and more people were appearing. Near even saw a few police officers in the crowd who were joining the mob rather than trying to break it up.

He looked around at the bodies of the people who had selflessly helped him defeat light Yagami, and he suddenly felt a great rage building in his chest. Everyone else was dead he did not have the strongest getaway plan. These people were far more Crusadic then the mob that had attacked his headquarters when he had been investigating Light.

He did not have nearly as much money to dump on them as he had the last time, and didn't believe that he would be able to turn them away so quickly. This new Kira had focused on strengthening the people's loyalty to him first and foremost, and it had worked. Worse, this building was smaller and lower-tech then his previous headquarters. It would not take the mob very long to break inside and find him, and he didn't have a definite escape route other than to drop into the sewers beneath the building. Judging from the size of this mob, it would not take them long to realize where he had gone and follow him.

That was the moment when he felt something touch his hand, and a tingle shot through his body similar to a shock form static electricity. Yet it was defiantly not static electricity. Near jerked his hand back from the sensation and his fingers ran across something as he did so.

Something black raised itself up, and Near looked at it from the corner of his eye. It was a DEATH NOTE and someone was holding it. He shifted his gaze to what was holding it and stood stock straight when he saw the DEATH NOTE's inhuman holder.

The being was holding the DEATH NOTE looked like a human with dragon like features. Patches of rough and dull scales covered his bleached bone white skin irregularly with small bone spikes, and his long tail swished across the floor. His features were not the romanticized hybrid of human and dragon, and was unnatural and disfigured enough to belong in a horror story or a nightmare. Even though Near had never seen a real Shinigami, there was no doubt in his mind that this was one.

"Who are you?" Near asked the Shinigami in a calm voice.

"You're not going to scream?" The Shinigami asked Near in amusement. "Most humans scream."

Near didn't answer, and the dragon like Shinigami shrugged. He tucked the DEATH NOTE he had touched Near with into the inside of his knee-length worn black duster, and seemed amused when Near's eyes tracked the notebook's progress.

"Isn't that mine now?" Near asked looking at the spot where the DEATH NOTE was as the Shinigami retracted his hand.

"Hardly," the Shinigami snorted. "If I had let it touch the ground of the human world before touching you then it would be, but I didn't. This just lets you see me."

"Why would you do that?" Near asked warily as he faced off with the Japanese God of Death.

"Because you're going to die today," the Shinigami shrugged. "I can see it."

Near swallowed and had to restrain himself from looking around at the bodies of his colleagues.

"You're supposed to die today anyway," the Shinigami smirked, "but I can tell you're on my side."

"Your side?" Near was surprised. "There are sides?"

"You want to stop this new Kira, right?" The Shinigami probed and jabbed Near in the chest with a finger, "so do I. That's why I'm going to save you just this once."

"So _you_ are going to help _me_?" Near asked in a dubious tone, grey eyes solemn and dark. "Won't that kill you?"

"A Shinigami will only turn to dust if we use our DEATH NOTE to extend a human's lifespan," the Shinigami said as if Near was an idiot. "I'm not going to do anything of that sort, Near you're calling yourself?"

Near was surprised that the Shinigami was calling him by his alias but didn't complain. Without another word the Shinigami started to walk away, and Near silently followed. The alarms started to ring that the bullet-proof glass around the building was broken and the mob was starting to enter.

"Where are we going?" Near asked as the Shinigami led him up.

"To the roof," the Shinigami tossed over his shoulder. "I can fly carrying you, but since you humans can't travel through walls we need to be out of the building."

"Fly?" Near whispered.

The Shinigami spread his short but tall white dragon wings and flew through the air quickly enough that Near had to run to keep up. Despite running into walls and doorframes the Shinigami passed through them as if he was a ghost. Behind Near he could hear the sounds of his attackers as they began to tear the building apart looking for him and spreading out to search the floors.

Near ran up the emergency stairs after the Shinigami, and there was a gunshot near him that hit the railing. He flinched when he realized he had been spotted and the shouts got louder. Either it was someone with a concealed handgun or a cop, but whoever they were kept shooting.

He ducked and felt a bullet come close to his ear as he made it up to the roof and pushed open the door that led onto the roof. As there was no way for Near to lock the door from the outside he didn't bother wasting energy trying to close it. The Shinigami was already waiting for him up there and he waved Near over. Sunlight blinded him momentarily as he ran across the roof to the Shinigami and there was a sudden gunshot behind him.

Pain sliced through Near's arm as the bullet hit him, and he stumbled forward tripping and falling to his knees. The Shinigami tssked when Near fell, and realized that Near might die today anyway. Rats, that was annoying. He could be helpful in killing Moon's human.

"Freeze you!" The person who had shot Near shouted and lowered his pistol at him.

Near stood slowly and turned around. It was one of the police officers after all. Pain made his eyesight blur, and Near clasped his left forearm where the bullet had hit him to try and stanch the bleeding. There was the sound of wingbeats and Near realized that the dragon Shinigami was taking off.

He thought he was being abandoned until the Shinigami called out, "get over here already and jump."

Jump? Jump off the building? Near would never think of doing something so insane normally, but realized he had no choice but to trust the Shinigami would catch him as it was clear he was going to die if he didn't move.

Near was close to the edge of the building now, and he slowly stepped back closer to the edge. The officer kept his pistol trained on him and stepped closer. This building was seven stories tall so if the Shinigami didn't catch him then he was going to be dead anyway.

"Stop moving," the officer ordered and shot the cement roof near Near's feet.

Near did not stop moving, and tried to remember how many bullets had already been shot. There had been five gunshots, and most cops had cartridges that carried eight or nine bullets plus one bullet in the barrel. His opponent still had four or five shots left.

"Human," the Shinigami called to him in an irritated voice.

Near had no choice and turned and ran to the edge of the building. He put his foot on the edge of the building to jump to where the Shinigami was when the cop shot again. The bullet his Near in the shoulder close to his heart and his foot skewed. Rather than jump off he fell forward, and the Shinigami missed grabbing him.

The Shinigami swore as Near fell and tucked in his wings to dive after him. On the street the humans who had not entered the building looked up when Near's blood landed on them and saw him falling. They started shouting and moved back so he wouldn't land on top of them.

Just a little closer, the Shinigami thought as he reached out a clawed hand towards Near. Near saw the ground approaching and he suddenly felt sad. In the end he had lost. Kira was going to win and become justice for his New World.

Then the Shinigami grabbed him. His claws tore through the back of Near's shirt harmlessly, but he wrapped an arm around Near's chest and snapped out his wings to their full length to halt their descent. It worked, and he flapped his wings strongly to gain altitude, the move of his wings slow from how much the human weighed.

Below him the humans fell silent and then started shouting even louder than before. The cop had run over and stood on the edge of the building to look down, but now jerked back as the Shinigami and the semi-conscious boy flew up in front of him. He yelped and tripped over his feet, landing on his back ungracefully while his gun fell away from his hand.

This was going to cause a stir, the Shinigami chuckled to himself in amusement as he flew up towards the clouds, grateful that it was a solid blanket covering the sky. Although the humans could see Near flying, they wouldn't' be able to see the Shinigami carrying him so it would look to them like Near was flying under his own power. The move had save Near's life, but it would inadvertently make the humans believe what Kira said about Near being some sort of inhuman true.

Oh well. There was a tradeoff to everything, and this would just make stopping Moon all the more interesting. He would do it though, for he had failed to stop Light Yagami when he was alive. This time Drake would not fail, and he would stop him. Light Yagami would be dealt a second and final death by his hands. That would atone for Drake failing in his human life.

It was a promise, and, assuming Near could survive his injuries, he might have just found a new ally to help him.

* * *

 **The Shinigami in this chapter is Drake, just in case that wasn't obvious. Drake wants to stop Moon, and if someone deals with Moon's human then that makes his job easier and naturally only another human can deal with him. Hence his reason to save Near. There is going to be some crazy fallout from the humans "seeing Near fly" in the next chapter though, man. A human can't fly, but thanks to Drake it looks like Near was flying, so it proves that Near can't be human.**

 **Oops.**

 **I am unsure if this was made clear beforehand, but the identity of Kira as Light Yagami was announced to the population of Earth after his death. Everyone on Earth was told that although the followers of Kira refused to believe that Kira was a mortal. The same was true for the Shinigami World, so all of the new Shinigami born after Light's death know Light Yagami was Kira. They aren't told that Moon was Light Yagami, but they can still guess like Drake did.**


	16. Old Friend

Drake flew for a ways inland until he left the big city of New York. Once he reached the countryside he angled his wings downward and fell below the cloudline. Near was limp and unconscious in his arms, and Drake knew that the blood loss from being shot was starting to hamper his chances of living. He set Near more then dropped him to the ground and knelt beside him, overlooking his injuries.

Honestly, humans ere such fragile creatures. Who could imagine a little piece of metal like a bullet could kill such lowly creatures as humans? Drake put his hand to his head at the thought, and dug his fingers into his hair. He could, Drake reminded himself, he had been human once after all.

Troubled by his thought, he checked Near's injuries. The shot to the arm was a mere graze that had mostly stopped bleeding already. It was the bullet he had taken to the shoulder that was proving to be the most troublesome. Luckily the bullet had gone straight through and left his body, so it had begun to heal naturally.

Drake held one of his deformed taloned hands over the injury in Near's shoulder, and the cells began to multiply faster as the wound healed with Drake's help. The Shinigami were Gods of Death, but Drake was one of the only ones to know that they could prevent death as well as cause it. Recently with the Kira Incident it had become common knowledge that Shinigami could die by using their DEATH NOTE to prevent a human from being murdered by giving the human who was supposed to die their own lifespan.

To save a human who would be murdered was a concrete fate, but Shinigami could manipulate both death and life. Drake was simply the only one bold enough to test the fact. He lowered his hand once he had stabilized Near.

Although he had staunched the major bleeding, the wound was not healed and Drake was no doctor in his life or his past human one. Drake used his sharpened fingernails to tear Near's shirt and then removed it. Neatly he tore it the white shirt into strips for bandages and bandaged Near's wounds.

He must have done a better job with his patch-job healing then he thought for just as he finished tying the bandages around Near's injured arm Near opened his eyes. Drake thought about leaving before he awoke, but decided against it and sat there. Near was able to acclimate himself back to the world of the waking surprisingly quickly, but that could also be from Drake.

Near looked in confusion for only a brief moment, and settled once he saw Drake. "I take it you managed to help me escape."

Drake didn't answer and stood. Near wondered why Drake was so quiet all of a sudden and tried to sit up. He glanced down and looked at the bandages that had been made from his shirt in surprise. Curiously, he ran his fingers over them. The bandages were well wrapped and neat, and Near was surprised that a Shinigami had experience in making bandages.

"We used to be human," Drake said softly as if to answer Near's confused thought.

Near glanced at him in surprise as he sat up, trying to realize what Drake had said.

"Shinigami are humans who used DEATH NOTEs, or other powers of Shinigami," Drake explained. "Once they die they awaken in the Shinigami World with new forms and abilities. The Shinigami King is the only one among us who has never been human."

So that was how a Shinigami knew how to bandage wounds. Near lowered his hand and Drake continued speaking.

"There are many new Shinigami that have been created because of the Kira Incident, called, fledglings," Drake clenched his sharpened fingernails to his palm and might have drawn blood had he been human. "The Shinigami currently helping this new Kira is one of the many fledglings. He goes by the name of Moon, but in his human life you called him Light Yagami."

Near froze with his fingertips resting on the bandages on his arm.

"Light Yagami?" He repeated in a quiet, hesitant voice.

Drake's tail twitched from side to side like a cat, and he let the fact sink in. "I am also what you would call a fledgling, Near."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Near asked and stood with effort, surprising Drake that his wounds had healed to such a degree. "As a Shinigami you should be able to see my true name."

"I can," Drake agreed, "but that is the name you're used to hearing."

"You're a fledgling," Near repeated. "That means you've used a DEATH NOTE as well. Who are you? Did I know you?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Drake sighed softly. "I can't go back to being human and within a few decades my memories of my human life will fade, even my real name."

Near thought for a moment Drake was going to speak his name, but then the Shinigami stopped. When he didn't try to say anything else, Near looked down at the bandages again. Who among the users of a DEATH NOTE had experience in patching wounds? A police officer or other sort of federal agent would have basic first aid training, but would it really be to this degree of mastery?

To have such mastery over bandaging bullets wounds was something he would expect from an underworld doctor instead of a police officer. The thought made Near looked back up at the dragon Shinigami, thoughts drifting towards a sudden hunch.

Drake had to be a human DEATH NOTE wielder who had died in the past few years, and his skill with the bandages made Near think. He knew someone who had spent a few years in the underworld where knowing how do bandage bullet wounds would come in handy. Slowly, Near looked up to Drake. Was Drake?

"I can take you to Florida," Drake said before Near could voice his assumption. "Since that is where Moon is that I where I am going. The human pretend to be the new Kira and working with Moon is also there."

"It's that girl you showed me from the page that you tore," Near remembered, "Right before Kira's latest announcement. The new Kira is Raven Dorky."

"Raven Grayson," Drake corrected. "Her father left, so she went back to using her mother's maiden name rather than her father's."

Near couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just like that he had the new Kira's real name, but then he looked back down with a sigh. It didn't matter anymore though. She'd managed to turn the world against him, and branded an inhuman devil. Drake flying Near out of there would only convince the world that what Kira was saying was true. He knew Kira's name, but it no longer mattered. No one would help him.

He, like Drake in his quest to stop Moon, was on his own.

"Moon is defying the Shinigami Kin in open rebellion," Drake shook his head and his tail twitched in irritation. "He's openly helping Raven by using his eyes to tell her what names to write down instead of taking her lifespan, and he's already altered several death dates. He wishes to continue what he began as Light and complete Kira's conquest. I am here to stop him by any means, but so long as he lives Raven is under his protection and another Shinigami cannot harm her. A human can however, which is why I saved you."

"So the game is not over," Near whispered. "One of the players has died, but the game has only just begun."

He reached up and twirled a lock of his white hair between two fingers as he thought, just as he always did.

"Why didn't Raven kill me during the broadcast?" Near asked Drake softly. "She had my picture, and if Moon, Light Yagami, is telling her names then he should have told her my real name."

"The Shinigami King has blurred your name," Drake said, something that seemed to surprise Near. "He does not wish for a rebel as Light to achieve victory, so he is shielding you. You cannot be killed by a DEATH NOTE even though you do not possess one yourself, nor can any Shinigami harm you."

"I can still be killed by humans though," Near realized, and glanced at his shoulder where a little bit of red was seeping through the white cloth.

"Come on," Drake motioned and waved Near over. "I need to get to Florida and find a guardian for my DEATH NOTE."

Near walked over to Drake, not used to being babysat like this or by Drake's grump disposition. Drake's personality was eerily familiar, and it only made Near's assumption even firmer. He saw Drake's wings unfurl overhead. It almost didn't seem like it was possible, but could it, could Drake be… Mello?

Drake beat his wings in a downstroke and took off through the sky.

* * *

 _Shinigami World_

Ryuk looked out into the distance from his cave. There was activity outside, more than he had ever seen before. Who would have guessed that his story to Moon would have led to this much of a ripple? The Shinigami World was almost _lively_.

He had no idea when the fledgling Shinigami named Moon had come to him with a dead apple from this world asking to hear his story how things would turn out. Moon had listened to Ryuk tell the tale of his time with Light Yagami, and then left in the middle of it right after he had said how L had died. Ryuk had encouraged Moon to go the human world and realized only after Moon had left who he had been as a human.

Ryuk's DEATH NOTE had reacted to Moon, and it was only when Ryuk turned to the right page did the humming in his skull stop. It was a page with just one name on it, out of honor for his human who had relieved his boredom for so long. The only name on it was "Yagami Light."

After that he had wondered what Moon was going to do, but he did not realize what it was until Raven Greyson had touched the DEATH NOTE. Now another fledgling with a score to settle against Light Yagami had gone to the human world after Moon, and like Moon he was tampering with human lifespans. Drake was breaking the very rules he was trying to protect, and neither Armonia nor the Shinigami King were pleased by this.

Most of the other Shinigami were glad to have some entertainment, and eagerly watched the unfolding events. They crowed around the viewing orbs, and a few even wanted to go to Earth as well to see firsthand or partake in events. The Shinigami King had shut down the portal to the Human World in response to everyone's annoyance, stranding Moon and Drake there until events were resolved.

Some of the Shinigami thought that it was about time the upstart Moon was put in his place, but there were a few who thought a little change might be good. Moon was changing things, changing the rule of the playing field and the Shinigami's role in the human world. Change was what the Shinigami World needed to stop its lifeless decay.

There were two different factions in the Shinigami World now because of Moon. Ryuk knew that having two different factions who equally believed _they_ were right was one of the ingredients needed to begin a civil war. He smiled, showing off his pointed teeth. It looked like Light was going to provide him with some more entertainment.

Thanks to Kira, there might soon be peace on Earth.

Thanks to Kira, there might soon be war in the Shinigami Realm.

* * *

 **Near believes that Drake is Mello because Mello, spending so much time with the mafia, would understandably learn how to tend bullet wounds. Does anyone agree with Near?**

 **I will not say if Drake is Mello because we won't know for sure until Drake himself says his human name. If you have not guessed Drake's identity yet I ask you to do so. Who of my readers agrees with Near? Who does not? Who, if any, will change their guess based on the new information?**

 **If you are going to post a guess then please try to leave a reason why you picked the name you did. Also please tell me any pros/cons you have with the story to help make the story better.**

 **Yes, you read Ryuk's thoughts correctly. Because the Shinigami King shut down the portals and is letting Moon and Drake run free, there is unrest and mistrust between him his Shinigami. There are also two different factions, for a war cannot be fought with just one side.**


	17. Ten Days to Death

The social media was swarming with news about Kira's latest announcement, Near, and the unsuccessful raid on the SPK. Videos of Near flying swamped the internet and got so many views that it temporarily crashed the internet for a half an hour. Texts and emails lagged between send times from the sheer amount of them that were sent and the phone towers were getting a work out as well from the calls.

Once the internet was restored, social media began to be swarmed and chat rooms designated to the subject of Kira began to fill rapidly. Humans were by nature social creatures, but this amazed even the most studious of scholars. Kira was right, and Near was far from human. After all, a human couldn't fly.

Even small chat rooms like _Kira's Angels_ found themselves a little overloaded. FallenAngel, the moderator for _Kira's Angels_ was currently trying to interfere in the endless stream of conversation with only moderate success.

 _Gandolf3: So Near is a god like Kira?_

 _*Nevermore*: yeah, but he's a bad one_

 _Gandolf3: he looks humans in the video_

 _*Nevermore*: …humans don't fly brainiac_

 _Gandolf3: I got that_

 _FallenAngel: Near is not human. Like Kira, he can take on many forms. The form of a young boy is simply one to deceive us into thinking he is innocent and human, but Kira knows better._

 _*Nevermore*: You finally decided to chime in FA?_

 _FallenAngel: You have hardly been letting me speak. Near is simply manipulating people with his young appearance._

 _Willroy: Going for the sympathy card by using puppy dog eyes_

 _*Nevermore*: I guess that's one way to put it_

 _Mythic_Feather: I just joined, who's doing what now?_

 _FallenAngel: Near is trying to gain sympathy from the humans by taking on the form of a child_

 _*Nevermore*: He's a faker_

 _FallenAngel: Yes. We mustn't be fooled by him. Kira is the true god and Near is his enemy._

 _Mythic_Feather: Little random, but isn't Kira a girl's name?_

 _Gandolf3: you're right. It is._

 _Willroy: Is Kira a girl?_

 _*Nevermore*: I guess we don't really know for certain._

 _Gandolf3: What do you say FA?_

 _FallenAngel: Whether Kira is a god or goddess they are still our savior who will bring justice to this decayed world._

 _*Nevermore*: You'd rather he be a girl, right?_

 _Mythic_Feather: When did FallenAngel say that?_

 _Willroy: he didn't have to say it_

 _Gandolf3: are you a psychic now?_

 _*Nevermore*: ha ha_

"Why are you so interested in the chat room?" Moon asked, looking over Raven's shoulders as she read the posts on _Kira's Angels_.

Raven glanced away from the screen and sat back in her chair. "You don't know FallenAngel's real name?"

"FallenAngel?" Moon said in a confused voice.

"The moderator and creator of this chat room, _Kira's Angels_ ," Raven waved a hand towards the screen. "I thought I could use a distraction after everything that happened with Near, so I decided to check in on her."

Moon didn't say anything, and Raven frowned.

"That's weird," Raven mused. "You really don't know who FallenAngel is? I thought you were the one who… never mind."

Raven looked back to the screen, following the posts on the forum. Moon started to read the posts, but he couldn't tell much other than the fact FallenAngel was a fanatic Kira believer.

"Who is FallenAngel in real life?" Moon asked, and Raven wasn't that surprised by his curiosity.

"Sayu," she said and scrolled down the posts.

"Sayu," Moon repeated and then straightened. "You don't mean my sister!"

"Yep," Raven smiled at his startled reaction, "Sayu Yagami. I was interested in FallenAngel because they seem to be an ideal believer like Lily, and when I tracked down her username I found it was Sayu Yagami. It was a little surprising. She was put into a state of shock and wheel-chair bound after Mello and the mafia kidnapped her. Well, she recovered."

"Sayu's all right," Moon said softly, trying to figure out if that still mattered to him and how much it did.

"Sayu, FallenAngel, says in her forum's profile page," Raven shook her head. "Let me just find the page instead of trying to say it all from memory."

Moon was surprisingly patient while she brought up FallenAngel's profile on the homepage of Kira's Angels.

"Here," Raven read it out loud. " _I was once an empty shell, broken in mind. Kira came to me however, and freed my mind from the darkness it had been plunged into. He is my savior and the world's, and I am but his humble servant."_

"That doesn't sound like Sayu," Moon muttered. "Though I suppose after being catatonic for so long her mind might be different. What does she mean 'Kira came to me?'"

"That's why I thought you visited her and brought her from her catatonic state before you dropped the DEATH NOTE," Raven hummed curiously. "You are a God of Death now, and Sayu is your sister. Shinigami's powers extend beyond that scrap of paper under my bed, right? You can do more than just kill people with the DEATH NOTE."

"I don't know," Moon said honestly. "I haven't tried tampering with the humans without my DEATH NOTE."

"Don't want to risk getting turned into a pile of dust, eh?" Raven smiled, "I suppose I can't blame you. I guess if you didn't do anything to help Sayu then she must have come out of her catatonic state on her own, and somehow thought Kira was behind it. Weird, but she is a perfect puppet and right on point with my ideals."

"Are you thinking of contacting her?" Moon asked in an odd tone as if he wasn't sure if he wanted Sayu to become involved in Kira a second time after what happened the first time.

"No reason to as long as I have Mei Akiyama," Raven shrugged, "she's a fine Voice of Kira. I suppose if something happens to Akiyama then I could always bring Sayu into the light. She is Light Yagami's sister after all, so she would be accepted by Kira's followers, probably more than Mei Akiyama currently is."

Raven leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at the ceiling while she thought. Now that she thought about it, it might be a really good idea to contact Sayu. How would Moon react though? He might not be human anymore, but Sayu was still his sister, wasn't she?

"I suppose since Sayu isn't openly saying that she is the sister of Light Yagami in her forum she doesn't want anyone to know," Raven leaned forward and rested her arms on her desk again, speaking on a more cheerful note. "For now I'll let her have the anonymity she wishes."

Moon wasn't sure if he was relieved her not, and Raven started to browse through Mei Akiyama's emails, something that confused Moon again. "Akiyama is just a disposable human, why are you so concerned with her? Once she serves her usefulness then she serves her usefulness."

"That attitude is why you were shot by Matsuda," Raven warned.

Moon recoiled and glared at her. If it were an anime he'd have that red irritated symbol on his forehead as he glared. Raven smiled without turning, knowing Moon well enough to correctly guess what his reaction would be.

"I'm not wrong," she told him in something akin to a scolding voice. "You disposed or abandoned every one of your allies so there was no one left to help you when Near finally cornered you. That led to Matsuda shooting you and you dying. I am not making the same mistake as you."

Her phone buzzed that she had a text before Moon could give a furious response, and Raven eagerly snatched it up.

"Yes," she smiled as she read the text, "It's still on."

"What is?" Moon grumbled, and Raven though it looked a little like he was sulking.

"The kids in my high school hold a bonfire at the end of every summer before school starts," Raven smiled. "School starts in thirteen days, and I was a little worried about the bonfire what with everything happening to Kira. Cody say here it's still on, and it'll be at Miami Beach from in three days. Like always it starts at sunset and ends at sunrise."

Raven's current lifespan was set to ten days to death, so she would have a week left to live by the time the bonfire happened. He only just now realized it, but she died three days before the school year started. She would never get a chance to live her senior year, but Moon supposed it really wasn't important. Even if she didn't manage to kill Near, she had done more than enough to help Kira. Moon hadn't given it much thought but he really did need to find someone to become the DEATH NOTE's new owner after her death.

"Are you alright Moon?" Raven asked after she sent Cody a text replying that she would be there. "You look troubled."

"I'm fine," Moon lied, surprised by the genuine concern in Raven's voice, "just thinking about Sayu."

"She is family," Raven smiled, and looked back down at her phone.

Family, Moon sighed and looked out her open bay window. What did that word even mean?

* * *

 _Shinigami Realm_

Things were unstable Ryuk mused, and that was an understatement. The Shinigami King had shut down the portals to the human world, and was threatening to shut down the viewing orbs so no one could look to the human world. It was done in an attempt to settle the Shinigami from the battle that was taking shape between Moon and Drake. If he shut down the windows to the human world then no one would be able to look there to humans, and no one would be able to see their names.

The Shinigami would have no way to write down the names of humans in their DEATH NOTEs to increase their lifespan if the windows shut down. This opened the possibility that if the windows were "closed" then Shinigami's lifespans might begin to run out and they would start to die. Rather than calming and bringing everyone in line, the Shinigami King's threat was making everyone edgy.

Ryuk found it singularly ironic as he looked out over the decayed world of the Shinigami. There were a multitude of his kin moving around on the ground instead of sitting around napping or gambling as they always were. Others were in the air, taking advantage of the wings every Shinigami was gifted with to fly. He heard several footsteps approaching and he turned away from the opening in the wall to see two Shinigami that he didn't know approach.

He looked at them silently, wondering why they were here.

"If it isn't Ryuk, the one who started this insanity," one of them taunted. "Thanks to you the king is threatening to close the windows."

"If he does that then we won't be able to kill humans," the other said in a less friendly voice. "Our lifespan could run out and we could die."

"Then you better kill some humans before the windows are closed," Ryuk told them, leaning against the open wall of his cage.

"We can't," the first one warned him.

Ryuk raised his head at his word and turned towards him. "Can't? What's that supposed to mean?"

"The Shinigami King is shielding the humans from our sight, all of them," the second snapped and sliced through the air with a hand. "He knows we need to kill humans, and right now none of us can see the names or death dates of humans. It's too blurred."

"This way," the first continued, "we can't kill humans to increase our lifespan. No Shinigami can see the name or death dates of any human. He put this veil to stop Moon, and he's affecting the rest of us. Once Moon dies then he'll stop blurring the names, but until he does our lifespans will continue to shrink."

"It's all your fault," the second growled and stepped closer to Ryuk. "You gave Light Yagami the DEATH NOTE and started the Kira Investigation, and then you told Moon – Light Yagami – to go back to the human world and continue it. This has gotten out of control."

"The king won't let us go to the human world to try and help Drake kill Moon," the first complained, "and I don't like playing my lifespan against how quick Moon dies."

Ryuk tried to lean back, but couldn't go any further. His ragged and faded poncho he wore rustled in the wind. As punishment for the Kira Investigation, Ryuk had been imprisoned here in this cave. There were no bars and there were even stairs that led down to the ground, but Ryuk could not leave. The blue lantern that hung from the ceiling imbued by the king prevented him from leaving the confined space.

Here he had no access to a window, so eventually his lifespan would count down and end. Even if he was not imprisoned by the light of the lantern it was not like he could go anywhere without his wings. Ryuk could not leave, but others could come to him. Unlike some Shinigami, and all the fledglings from the Kira Investigation, Ruyk did not naturally have a weapon.

He couldn't lean back any further as the two entered his cell and approached him. Shinigami could not kill each other, and rarely fought outside of small brawls between gamblers, but these two were obvious still going to give Ryuk a piece of their mind. Ryuk almost sighed softly to himself at the way his luck was working. There was nothing he could do against these two.

A shadow suddenly fell over him as the two stepped closer, and Ryuk looked over his shoulder to see a third Shinigami hovering there outside his cage. The new Shinigami was one of the rare ones with four wings, one set arched up and the other pointed down. It was a female Shinigami, and her wings looked they were made out of ink, like stylized tattoos of bat wings that only outlined the wings. They were long and narrow rather than wide and tall as most Shinigami's wings were.

Ryuk looked between her and his two other guests, realizing he was truly cornered. The female Shinigami flexed her fingers, and her black fingernails elongated and sharpened so they were like small daggers made of black iron. She raised her hands, holding them with her fingernails pointing forward.

"Leave him alone," she warned the two about to attack Ryuk and suddenly swooped inside.

Ryuk ducked as she flew over his head right at the other two. They jumped back and the female Shinigami raised her dagger-like fingernails. By the time Ryuk opened his eyes and looked up the female Shinigami had already forced the other two to retreat and she was laughing at them. Her long pointed fingernails shortened so they were only a little longer than average and she swirled to face Ryuk.

"Hi Ryuk," she greeted him in a bubbly and hyperactive voice.

"Uh," was Ryuk could say.

Both sets of her wings folded up on her back and vanished. The female Shinigami who had unexpectedly come to his rescue was humanoid, with relatively humanoid features. The right side of her body was very beautiful with fair and unblemished skin as white as virgin snow, and her right eye was a light brown color. Her hair hung straight down her shoulders, and was parted in the middle. Like her body, the right side of her hair was healthy, and was both silky and fine in a honey-blonde color.

It was the left side of her body that was terrifying, for her flesh on the left side was decayed and showed bones at random intervals, a twisted form of her right side's beauty. Her right eye was clouded as if blind, and her hair was white as bleached bones and hung ragged and limp in tangles and knots.

Her clothing was black and in a gothic punk style from the silver-studded collar she wore loosely around her neck to the black boots that came up to her knees. In addition to the collar she wore a silver fleurs-de-lis on a chain, and matching earrings hung from both her ears. There was red lipstick on the right side of her lips, but none of the decayed left side. It was a startling mirror effect that clashed with her outfit.

"You don't know me?" The female Shinigami asked with wide eyes and pointed a finger at her chest.

"The fact that you've got a weapon means you're probably one of the Kira fledglings," Ryuk offered.

The female Shinigami nodded ad introduced herself, "Hela everyone calls me, but I still remember my real name."

Ryuk gave her a blank look when she didn't say her name, unable to guess, and Hela pouted with a huff. The right side of her hair fell down from being tucked behind her ear, partially hiding her decayed half from sight.

"It's me Misa," Hela said and stomped her foot. "Hela can't believe you didn't recognize her Ryuk."

"Misa?" Ryuk repeated and looked the pouting Shinigami over. "I guess you do look like her."

Hela, also known as Misa Amane in her human life, hung her head. "Let's just go."

"Go?" Ryuk said dubiously. "I can't."

When Hela gave him an idiotic look that she didn't understand, Ryuk pointed at the lantern. It was outside of his cell, so although he could see it he couldn't touch it and no one else would dare break it and free him, risking the king's wrath. Hela took one look at the lamp and sharpened her fingernails to long daggers of black iron. Ryuk stared as she jumped off the floor and neatly sliced the lantern keeping him trapped into dozens of pieces.

The barrier Ryuk had been leaning against vanished, and Ryuk almost fell out of the cave's open wall before he caught himself. He was free. In surprise he looked at Hela as she retracted her nails to normal length again.

"Why is it all you Kira fledglings have weapons?" He asked.

Hela smiled just like Misa used to. "Let's go now. You can't stay here, and we need to find some way to help Moon."

Ryuk wasn't surprised to find that even as a Shinigami Misa still loved Light Yagami. She was Hela and he was Moon now, but that obviously hadn't changed her feelings for him.

"There are other who want to help Moon to," Hela giggled, "they want to help him change the human world and this one. Other don't want things to change. They're too scared of the king or don't care."

"I still can't," Ryuk said quietly as Hela hopped back outside and materialized the ink like tattoos that functioned as wings.

Hela hovered in front of him and looked at the worn poncho he wore, expression suddenly softening. "The Shinigami King really tore out your wings?"

Ryuk gripped the edge of the poncho that hid the torn remnants of his wings without looking at her or answering.

"Hela'll carry you," Hela promised him.

"Carry me?" Ryuk asked, feeling embarrassed already at the idea of having to be carried around by a female Shinigami.

"Hela's strong," Hela smiled and held out her hands. "Let's see if we can help Moon."

"Work with Light again huh," Ryuk whispered.

It clearly wasn't safe for him to stay here, and without his wings he was vulnerable. He had already lost his wings and the gift of flight so he supposed there wasn't much left to lose. This might be his final game, but it would be an interesting one at least.

Ryuk took Hela's offered hands and she beat her wings, taking off with Ryuk in tow. As Ryuk and Hela left, another fledgling created during the Kira Investigation watched them leave. His wings were shaped like beetle wings, but the edges were ice, and a pattern of snowflakes hovered in place within the outline. It fit his Shinigami name, Winter, and Winter's wings were one of the most beautiful sets among the Shinigami.

Winter dreaded how Hela's actions were going to affect the balance within the Shinigami World. Hela was a Kira fledgling, and with the Shinigami King in such a bad mood all of the Kira fledglings were likely going to get in trouble. He spread his wings of ice and snowflakes and flew off in the other direction, knowing that getting caught nearby would only put him in deeper trouble. It would be best for him to track down the rest of the Kira fledglings and tell them of the new development. While he was doing that he could try and see which of the fledglings were allied with Hela, and by extension, with Moon.

Winter couldn't believe how things were turning out. Moon's human only had ten days to live, and unless Moon sacrificed himself that date would not change. Since Moon was Light Yagami, Winter knew he would never do that. Why was everyone making such a fuss if this game would end in ten days? Either this game was going to continue long after Raven Grayson died and became a Shinigami herself, these next ten days were going to be absolute insanity, or the timeline was going to change. Which would it be?

In ten days Raven's lifespan would end, but what would happen on the tenth day? And what would happen after?

* * *

 **At this point, all the Shinigami know that Moon is Light Yagami and the name of his human, just to clarify. Don't try to guess who Winter is, i mean you can, but you don't have any information on him other then he is one of many "Kira fledglings." Misa is in this because she definitely used a DEATH NOTE, and i thought why not slip Sayu into it? If you've been catatonic who knows how many months and then you come out of it thinking that it was Kira who saved you, you'd probably be grateful to Kira to. I don't think Sayu's going to play a big role other then making Moon drift off lost in thought.**

 ** _DEATH NOTE Relight: Visions of God_ , is the name of the extra that has Ryuk talking to Moon (unnamed Shinigami). If you look at his cell and him it should be the same as my description. Yeah Ryuk lost his wings, he kinda got on the Shinigami King's nerves for helping Moon remember his life as Light Yagami by telling him that story and then letting him go and restart the Kira Incident. **

**What do you think about Misa as Hela (Hel is the Norse god of death)? Do you like me drifting off and telling events happening with the Shinigami? Do you understand the situation in the Shinigami Realm? Please leave a review with some answers because I want reader feedback and I'm really unsure about drifting off to the Shinigami. Please tell me that i am not ruining the story by doing this.**


	18. The Last of the Eight Brothers

Hela, also known as Misa Amane, carried Ryuk for some time before finally gliding to the ground and setting him down on the dry surface. They landed in the shadows of one of the sets of giant rib bones that littered the surface. The boney skeleton was draped in front of a tumble of stones, and there was a Shinigami sitting on the stones.

When they landed the Shinigami flew down to them. Hela greeted him as energetically as she would have in her human life, her personality not having changed despite her suicide. Like most Shinigami, he was humanoid, but his features resembled a wasp or bug with black compound eyes and clear wasp-like wings that folded onto his back instead of vanishing as most wings did.

"Mikami," Hela greeted, "oh Beelzebub I mean."

"Mikami is fine," Teru Mikami assured Hela. "I don't mind being called that. That is the name Kira knows me as."

Ryuk knew that continuing to call yourself by your human name was not allowed, so it wasn't surprising that Mikami wasn't listening. Despite his twisted features, Ryuk could swear that Mikami looked guilty. It was amazing to see as Hela stepped away from Ryuk and walked over to greet him.

At first Ryuk didn't see any weapons, but then he noticed that mounted on the left side of Mikami's waist were two swords. It was a Daishō set with a katana and a smaller wakizashi half the length of the katana. The swords had no scabbards, and although they lacked a handguard, the hilt was made of wrapped bandages that were worn from use and stained with droplets of blood. As Kira fledgling he was indeed armed.

Ryuk sat down on the tumble of rocks with Hela and Mikami near him. They were the only two Shinigami in sight, and Ryuk sighed at their foolish recklessness. Whether dead or alive, children never changed.

"There are others," Mikami added before Ryuk could mention anything. "We weren't sure how they would react to you though, so we left them behind."

"So," Ryuk mused, "what exactly do you plan on doing? The passages to the human world are closed like the windows. There isn't much you can do to help Moon."

"Not on Earth," Hela agreed with a smile and kicked her heels against the air as she sat on the stones.

"What do you mean?" Ryuk asked warily.

"The reason why Moon has not been able to kill that traitor Near yet is because of the Shinigami King," Mikami exemplified. "The king is using his power to blur Near's real name so our eyes can't read it."

"It's not just Near though," Hela added with a smile. "To keep the one human safe he had put a shielding veil across all of the humans, so none of their names can be read."

Ryuk didn't know that last part, and the king's decision to close the viewing windows to the humans suddenly made a little more sense. "What do you expect to do about it? Kill the king?"

Ryuk started laughing after he said that because he truly didn't think that anyone would dream up something so ridiculous, but when Hela and Mikami didn't start laughing, he slowly quieted. They looked serious, and Ryuk gave them a blank look when he realized that was their plan.

"You can't be serious," Ryuk demanded. "Kill the Shinigami King!"

"If the king dies then the veil vanishes," Hela pointed out in excitement. "Then Moon can see Near's name again."

"The veil around the rest of the human species will also be lifted," Mikami added, "and the other Shinigami will be able to see names and start killing again. The longer this veil lasts, the antsier the rest of the Shinigami are going to get as they can do nothing as their lifespan ticks down. Other Shinigami will want to help us more and more as time passes in order to get rid of the veil."

Ryuk knew that their idea was sound in theory, and completely accurate. Putting up the veil to shield Near had meant protecting all the humans, so the king had closed the windows so the other Shinigami wouldn't realize what he had done. It was a short-term solution, but in the long-term it was going to have consequences.

"One small flaw with your plan," Ryuk told them with a sigh. "You have to kill the King."

"The younger a Shinigami is the higher likelihood of them being armed," Mikami said softly, "And the more powerful they are in combat."

"I do not get why the king's arming you fledglings, but that doesn't qualify you to fight him," Ryuk said tartly. "In order to get close to him you have to beat Armonia, and he's the king's right-hand man for a reason. He's the most powerful Shinigami the king ever created, and the first."

Mikami and Hela exchanged curious looks, and Ryuk hung his head. "You don't even know who created the Shinigami?"

"The king rules us," Mikami said, "and DEATH NOTEs dropped to the human world create more Shinigami."

"Who do you think made the DEATH NOTEs?" Ryuk asked tiredly. "The king did."

"Then who made the Shinigami King?" Hela asked curiously and leaned forward. "If he made the DEATH NOTEs that make Shinigami, who made him?"

"He's not a Shinigami," Ryuk explained simply. "We Shinigami are just his servants. He is the true god of death. Not us, or Kira."

Mikami bristled when Ryuk said Kira wasn't the true god. He remembered in embarrassment how he had failed Kira in his human life in the Yellow Box Warehouse. By failing to realize that he was writing down names in a fake notebook, he exposed Light. It had led to Light's death, and the failure was so extreme that Light had even claimed had no knowledge of him. This time, Mikami would not fail him. All he could do to help Moon at this point was to lift the veil from the Shinigami side, and that he would do.

"Going up against a true god of death is a bad idea for the living," Ryuk cautioned. "It's an even worse idea for the dead, and Shinigami are dead."

They weren't listening to him. Ryuk wasn't surprised. He reached up to the collar of the ragged poncho he wore and unclipped the two buttons at the collar. Hela and Mikami looked to him curiously as the poncho fell, and what was left of Ryuk's spread themselves.

They looked horrified, and Ryuk couldn't blame them. His wings, once almost twice as long as he was tall were now barely longer than his hands. One was a few inches longer, and it looked simply like his wings had been grabbed by a giant hand and raggedly torn off, which was close to what had happened. One of his black feathered wings was a few inches longer than the other, and feathers fell to the ground, leaving the wings half-naked.

The sight of Ryuk's ruined wings took some time to sink in, and Hela spoke once it did.

"Even if I lose my wings," Hela said softly in a surprisingly mature voice, "it will be worth it to help Light."

Ryuk looked at Mikami, but he had the same look as Hela.

"Will you help us defeat the Shinigami King?" Mikami asked seriously. "I know that you are one of the first generation of the Shinigami, and not much younger than Armonia. If anyone can help us then it will be you."

Ryuk shook his head, but Mikami continued talking. His background as a prosecutor was now starting to work in his favor. Instead of convincing the jury he was right, he only needed to convince Ryuk.

"I know you are one of the older ones," Mikami repeated, "because you're not armed. When Armonia first became a Shinigami he was drastically overpowered, so all Shinigami after him were made weaponless with no combat capabilities. The king felt threatened by Armonia's power, so he made sure he was the only one so strong. Over time, he slowly reintroduced the combat into the younger Shinigami."

Mikami drew the short-sword at his waist and held it out to Ryuk in one of his four-fingered hand.

"I have never held a sword before my death," Mikami admitted, "yet I find that I'm as skilled as a samurai general with them. Not only do we have weapons, we have the knowledge of how to use them. The same goes for Hela, she knows how to fight with her claws. I don't understand why the Shinigami King is turning his Shinigami into soldiers, but it works in our favor."

Soldiers, yes that sounded right to Ryuk. Why was the king making soldiers? There was no war to fight other than this civil war, and Ryuk doubted this was what the king intended. It really didn't matter what the king was planning since it looked like Hela, Mikami, and the rest of the Rebels were going to kill him.

"Kill the king," Ryuk chuckled, "You don't understand what he is."

"Why did he become the king of the Shinigami?" Mikami pushed, knowing that it was rare to get an information source like Ryuk. "Why did he even create the Shinigami?"

"Eh?" Ryuk tilted his head, heart-shaped earring reflecting in the light. "You don't know what the Shinigami are?"

"What we are?" Hela asked in an excited voice as if she had just been relieved from boredom. "We're Shinigami."

"Your wings," Ryuk said.

That drew a curious look from both fledglings, and Ryuk motioned to them to open their wings. They did so, Hela's double ink-like bat ones, and Mikami's bug ones.

"The younger the fledgling the less your wings look like they're supposed to," Ryuk mused. "They're supposed to be feather wings, like mine were."

"Feather wings?" Mikami repeated Ryuk's words.

"Didn't you find it odd that every single Shinigami has wings?" Ryuk asked off topic, and then chuckled when he realized Mikami hadn't. "It's no coincidence. We're supposed to have wings, although the more time that passes the more our wings vary from what they're supposed to be."

He had their attention now at least.

"Did you know that the Shinigami King used to have brothers?" Ryuk asked smugly.

Both fledglings shook their heads no.

"He did," Ryuk assured them. "Seven brothers, and he was the youngest of the eight. He wasn't the most powerful, but he was the fairest of them all."

"What happened to his brothers?" Hela asked innocently, her wings vanishing like fog exposed to sunlight as they folded onto her back.

Ryuk's spread his too-long lips and pointed teeth in a demented smile. "They're all dead."

Hela leaned back, but Mikami narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"The Shinigami King's world decayed, and he got lonely by himself, so he created the first DEATH NOTE," Ryuk tapped his black fingernails on his own DEATH NOTE. "In exchange for some of his powers in their life, humans that used one had to stay with him after they died for all eternity."

"Thus the Shinigami were born," Mikami whispered.

Mikami knew part of that story, but he didn't see what it had to do with not being able to kill the Shinigami King.

"Partly," Ryuk added, "but since I am one of the older ones, I know the rest of the story."

"The rest?" Mikami frowned, an odd features on his face. "What more is there?"

"The Shinigami King and his seven brothers used to rule this world, but our king was jealous of his older brothers, and decided he wanted the power for himself." Ryuk shook his head here, amazed that even a divine being like their king felt human jealousy. "So he killed six of his brothers, with only the eldest managing to survive. Their species broke into two factions, one side fighting for our future king and the other fighting for his brother."

"The king won," Hela guessed.

"Yes," Ryuk agreed, "the king slew his brother and became the king of this realm. Yet you see the cost before you. In the war their home was destroyed and became a place of death, and not a single other member of his species survived. The DEATH NOTEs are the king's way of trying to use humans to recreate his race."

"What was his race called?" Mikami asked, looking at Ryuk's feather wings darkly as he guessed.

"It had many names," Ryuk assured Mikami. "Seraph, Heavenly Being, and angel."

"A-angel!" Mikami stuttered.

"No way!" Hela whispered.

"That's why every Shinigami has wings," Ryuk chuckled. "Here's something interesting. The king and his brothers used to be the eight Archangels, the rulers of this realm now called the Shinigami Realm."

"You mean this," Mikami whispered and looked over the lifeless landscape. "Then this, this Shinigami Realm is…"

"Heaven," Ryuk finished, "so it was called before the Shinigami King betrayed his brothers and began the war. Ironic isn't it, that this is the equivalent of heaven. Makes you wonder what hell is like, assuming there is one."

The Shinigami Realm, a barren and lifeless wasteland, was the real Heaven?

"The King's older brother managed to seal him within the confines of this world before he died," Ryuk continued, "so the king was unable to go to the Human World directly. Eventually he got lonely enough to begin making DEATH NOTEs and dropping them."

"So the Shinigami are angels," Hela said softly.

"Death Angels," Ryuk corrected. "A real angel's power stems from life and light, but we Shinigami are created only after we die. Thus we are dead, and our forms twisted from what an angel's should be. A true angel has not been created since the death of this realm, and despite the king's efforts I doubt there will ever be one."

"Because humans become Shinigami only after death," Mikami whispered as he understood. "We are poor imitations compared to a true angel, which is why our power is bound to the DEATH NOTE and why we are monstrous in appearance instead of heavenly."

"Angels also drew their power from heaven," Ryuk added, "which was why it was so devastated in the war. Heaven's power is no longer pure as before, so when a new Shinigami is born, they drew their power form this realm in their death. Since the king still draws his power from this realm his appearance has mutated and dissolved over time, so he doesn't look like he used to."

"The Shinigami King's name back when he was still an angel," Mikami asked darkly. "It wouldn't happen to have been Lucifer, would it?"

Ryuk gave another ridiculous grin and draped the poncho back over his shoulders, snapping the buttons together. Mikami swallowed and looked down. It was no wonder Ryuk didn't rate their chances of defeating the Shinigami King too high. Even with his appearance and powers disfigured by the decaying world of the Shinigami Realm, the king was still the last "true" angel. Shinigami were mockeries of a real angel. How were they going to stop him and help Moon?

* * *

 **Okay, i know that's a lot of information to digest. Did i surprise you? it did strike me as odd that all the Shinigami would have wings, and i'm sure others have compared them to angels before. In the past, everyone knew a Shinigami could die by using their DEATH NOTE to lengthen a human life, but over time that knowledge faded until it was unknown at the time of Kira. The full history of the Shinigami is like that.**

 **You know now at least that Teru Mikami isn't Drake, but i don't think anyone actually voted, for him so good job. What happens if the veil does come down? The fight on Earth will tip back in Moon and Raven's favor.**

 **Soldiers eh? I wonder why Lucifer, ahem, the Shinigami King, is trying to create an army of soldiers?**


	19. Summer's End Bonfire

Raven muttered to herself about humans never learning as she wrote names down in her DEATH NOTE, occasionally glancing up at one of her computer monitors to make sure she was spelling their names correctly. After this many years you would think that everyone would have learned by now, and yet there were still criminals that needed to be killed. The clock on the bottom right-hand corner of the monitor warned her that it was close to 4pm, and Raven reluctantly finished writing down the last name and then got up to hide the DEATH NOTE back under her bed. Although she would love to keep getting rid of the scum that continued to invade her planet, she had a bonfire to attend.

"Are you going somewhere?" Moon asked unexpectedly after Raven had already crawled under her bed.

She jumped at his voice and hit her head on her bed with a thud. "Ow! Moon? I thought I told you to stop sneaking up on me."

Moon didn't answer, and Raven sighed as she rubbed her head and replaced the DEATH NOTE in the hidden notch with the eraser on the catch. Then she crawled backwards back out from under her bed and sat up, blowing her bangs from her face. Her head hurt, and when she turned to the culprit she saw Moon standing near her computer desk.

"Moon, you are so lucky I can't actually kill you," Raven snapped at him and stood. "And yes, I'm going to the bonfire. You remember, I mentioned it three days ago? It's tonight and I have to load my car."

"Load it with what?" Moon asked blankly.

"Driftwood," Raven smiled unexpectedly and lowered her hand from her head. "Everyone who comes brings driftwood or tinder for the bonfire, or else refreshments. I've been collecting driftwood I find washed up on the shore, and I need to put it in my car."

"That's more important than writing down names?" Moon asked dubiously as Raven left her room.

"My hand is cramping," Raven tossed over her shoulder at him as she started down the stairs.

Her mom was at the hospital as usual, and as usual there was some money on the fridge so she could buy some food. Raven removed it and called up her favorite pizza parlor, placing her normal order. Once the pizza was on its way Raven put on some shoes and headed to the backyard with a set of gardening gloves in hand. She had assembled a fair stack of driftwood, and some seaweed she had left out to dry. Amid her stack of bonfire supplies was a giant palm tree that shaded the backyard.

Taped onto the palm tree was a target for her slingshot, and Raven had actually come out yesterday and practiced with her father's "gift." She rolled her eyes when she realized she had forgotten about writing her father's name down in her DEATH NOTE as she picked up an armful of driftwood and walked out front. Raven had also forgotten to open her car and it took a little maneuvering to get the keys from her pocket and open the trunk.

Once the first armful was secured, she went back to get more. In this manner she got the driftwood and seaweed into her trunk. Her trunk was pretty full at that point, so Raven closed and locked her car. That was the moment when the delivery boy for the pizza parlor came, and Raven ran back inside to get the money. Food was exchanged for money, and then she was back inside contently eating a slice of six-cheese pizza.

Raven was a little surprised that Moon hadn't showed himself again as she filled a plastic glass with some chocolate milk in the fridge to drink. Perhaps he had gotten bored of watching her load her car? Or was it about Sayu?

It might be about Sayu, Raven admitted as she replaced the gallon of milk and closed the fridge, sitting back down in front of her food. Ever since he had learned that Sayu had been operating under the alias FallenAngel as a Kira fanatic he had seemed more distant. Did he not want her involved? Raven would have thought he'd be happy his younger sister was on his side, or did he even consider Sayu his sister anymore?

Raven looked into her chocolate milk when she raised it instead of taking a sip. Would she still consider her mother family once she died and became a Shinigami? What would she look like as a Shinigami? Would she have wings like Moon did? What about a weapon?

She sighed and took a deep gulp of the cold beverage to distract herself. This was no time to start acting moody and thoughtful. The bonfire was tonight!

Moon still didn't appear when she finished eating, and Raven rinsed off her dishes and set them in the sink. There was a little pizza left over, and Raven wrapped them aluminum foil so she could eat it tonight if she got hungry. Typically, boys brought the firewood and girls brought the food, but some boy would inevitably show up with beer that everyone else would steal and dispose of.

Raven wasn't sure how, but the thought of the beer bottles brought to mind the recycling bin so before she forgot again she went into the garage. There were old Sunday newspapers in here just as she suspected, and she took them out to her car. She sighed when she closed her trunk again and remembered that she had forgotten her Zippo lighter up in her room.

When she trooped up to her room she was surprised that Moon didn't appear to be present and swiped her lighter from her desk drawer. She flicked it open, and tested it to make sure it would light. An orange flame appeared when she clicked it, so she snapped it closed satisfactorily and walked back downstairs.

Her Zippo's shell was dark grey instead of silver, and it had a pair of bright silver feather wings curled around the outside of it. It looked similar to a limited addition Japanese Angel Wing zippo, and the wings did remind her of angel wings. Raven had a bad habit of accidently almost getting killed, and her mother often told her that she kept her guardian angel very busy.

When she was three, she had apparently been at a neighborhood party and walked into the deep end of a pool. Her father had pulled her out of the water, but apparently Raven hadn't been panicking when he had retrieved her. Instead, she had been walking calmly along the bottom of the pool. Two years later, some teenager hadn't been looking when she jumped over a net of a tennis court and her feet had landed on Raven's shoulder and neck. It was a miracle she hadn't broken Raven's neck. The list went on.

Raven walked back into the dining room where her pizza was, and was surprised to see Moon was in the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to see that he was eating a bag of potato chips.

"Moon!" She shouted at him again and stalked forward with the lighter in hand. "Stop eating all my snacks!"

"They're good," Moon said innocently.

"Moon," she repeated in a cross voice. "You're a Shinigami who's dead. You don't need to eat!"

"It still tastes good," Moon muttered.

Raven swiped the bag of potato chips from him with a huff, and rolled it up. She put a chip clip on it and stuffed it back into the cabinet, wishing she could lock them away from Moon. Moon could just put his hand through the door though and manually unlock it to get her snacks as he had done before though. When she turned she saw that he was eating an apple.

"R-really?" Raven muttered and felt one of her eyebrows twitch. "Haven't you ever heard of self-control Moon?"

"The apples of the human world are much better than the ones in the Shinigami Realm," Moon complained, and took a giant bite of the apple. "They're much… juicer."

Raven didn't even try to take the apple from him and checked the time on one of the clocks. Moon almost chuckled to himself when he realized he was quoting Ryuk, and finished off the apple. How was Ryuk doing?

"I'm going to change into some beach clothes," Raven warned him so he wouldn't try to ghost into her room while she changed.

Raven set the lighter next to the pizza and went upstairs again. After ten minutes and a few more trips to retrieve everything she forgot, Raven put her little Volkswagen into drive and started to head to the beach where she would meet her classmates. There would be everyone from seniors to sophomores present, but not freshman. Or as Cody would call them, fresh meat.

"Moon?" Raven asked softly once they got underway. "Are you still thinking about Sayu?"

Moon was sprawled out on the backseat like usual, and he didn't answer. Instead, he rolled over so he was facing the seat. Yep, Raven thought. He was defiantly still thinking about his sister. Nothing more was said for the duration of the drive over.

It wasn't until Raven parked her car and unbuckled her seatbelt did Moon shift his position. He sat up as Raven got out of her car and waved at some of the others who were here to help build the bonfire before the party started. Something about the way Sayu had recovered rang poorly to Moon, and it wasn't just the fact that she had jsut happened come to her senses right when Moon had made his move.

Sayu hadn't supported Kira while Light Yagami was alive, so why would she support Kira after Light's death? He was missing something. No, Moon shook his head and climbed through the wall of the car outside. Thinking about Sayu could wait. Right now, he needed to pay attention. Raven only had seven days to live, and this bonfire was an excellent time to see if he could find a new human to give Raven's DEATH NOTE to after she died.

Raven opened her trunk, and some of the other students gathered removed her supplies and set them in the heap with the rest of it. The base had already been laid, and someone had placed a bucket of salt water nearby. Her car was emptied out before long, and Raven closed the trunk. She noticed that Moon had drifted away and was watching the other students set up the bonfire.

"Hey Raven," one of the students greeted her.

Raven smiled back when she heard Cody's voice and saw her friend standing there with his skateboard tucked under an arm. "Want to stash that in my car until you leave?"

Cody nodded that would be great and she waved at him to put it on the floor in the back seats. She locked it when Cody closed the door and securely made sure her keys were clipped to her belt loop of the denim shorts she wore. The two of them walked down to the beach, and helped the others with the wood.

Using driftwood was part of the bonfire, because a driftwood fire soaked in sea water would create eerily exotic blue and lavender flames. The fire from driftwood actually produced toxic smoke so everyone was careful to stay out of the smoke, and the fire was only burned if there was a strong breeze that would blow the smoke out to sea. Normal wood was also added into the bonfire with driftwood later on to minimize the effect.

"Is Max going to bring his " _special salts_ " like he did last year?" Raven asked him.

"Course," Cody agreed. "I think he's got a little of everything. That fire isn't going to know what color it is again."

Raven laughed softly, remembering last year how Max, full name Maximillion, had brought packets of everyday chemicals and added them to the fire to change its color. For the grand finale, he dumped all of them in and everyone watched the fire become rainbow colored. It was nice he was going to do so again.

The two of them kept chatting as the sun sank lower in the sky. Eventually Lily and her brother showed up with Amber, Amber having gotten her glasses fixed with the help of Raven's mother two days ago. More and more people continued to show up as the sun started to turn orange and paint the clouds. The tourists went inside when the sun set so they could wake up early for their next day of sightseeing, and the students had the beach to themselves.

When the orange ball that was the sun touched the horizon, Raven used her Zippo to light the fire. The tinder and crumpled up newspaper burned yellow-orange, but soon the wood caught fire. She stepped back and watched as the eerie blue-lavender fire came to life. Moon was hovering above the crowd with his bone wings spread, but he was also watching as the fire grew. He had never seen a driftwood fire.

Everyone watched the almost magical looking fire burn quietly, and Moon was a little surprised by their quiet. It was a perfect night for a bonfire. There were not a single cloud in the sky to interrupt the light from the full moon, and a nice breeze blew the smoke out to sea and kept everyone cool. There were only dim lights from the city, and all other lights were turned off so the fire was the main light source. He thought he could understand why everyone was watching the bonfire burn quietly.

After several minutes of quiet, the fire burned brighter and calls for the beach party to begin rang out. The almost enchanted silence was broken by chaos. A table had been set up with chips and there were coolers of soda nearby. One of Cody's skater buddies had brought a stereo and set it up on its own table with some speakers. He got shouted down when he tried to play classical and chuckled as he plugged his smartphone in and set it for Pandora to switch between songs.

It was dangerous to cook over a driftwood fire since the smoke was poisonous, so a few smaller fires with normal wood had been set up. Several people quickly took advantage of the marshmallow bags and started cooking s'mores while a few put some thawed out hotdogs on skewers to cook them.

Raven grabbed a 23oz can of Arizona tea from the table, half lemonade and half sweet tea, before they were all gone and opened the top as if it were a soda can. Moon had drifted closer, watching the party as it got underway. If what Raven knew about him was true, then even as Light Yagami he had never been very social. This was probably the first time he was part of a big, unofficial gathering of friends like this.

Once the initial driftwood fire began to burn low, normal fire was added so the wood was at a ratio of 1/3 driftwood and 2/3 normal fireplace wood. It diluted the toxic smoke to safer levels at the cost of the beautiful color of the fire. The ratio would be kept until the driftwood was used up. Once the driftwood was gone and the fire became a typical yellow-orange, Max would start throwing in the chemicals from his house to make the color change.

Until that happened, students broke apart and dance to the music or otherwise lounge and laugh. A few of the people went to turn the headlight's of their cars on so there was some more light, and other girls decided to go for a midnight swim. One good thing about growing up in a beach town was that a lot of high school students got summer jobs as lifeguards, so it was perfectly safe for them to be in the water. Cody swiped a can of Dr. Pepper and tapped on Raven's arm lightly.

"Want to go for a walk until Max starts?" He asked.

"Sure," Raven smiled.

The two of them managed to slip away unnoticed, and Raven was glad that Moon was too busy watching the party with a curiosity most similar to a young child's to accompany her. Set couples were also scattering for their own romantic stroll, and quite a few of them were probably going to find a private spot for a little love-making under the moon.

It wasn't like that for Raven and Cody, and they were just friends who both disliked the noise of the party. The tide was out and the two of them walked across the beach to distance themselves from the ever growing chaos of the party. This was the favorite night of the year for Raven, and she wished that the perfect peace could last.

Of course though, it didn't.

* * *

 **This is sort of a slice of life chapter. The next chapter is really going to move the plot along, but this one is relaxing. Everyone needs a break every now and then. Next chapter Peter Griffin shows up again, and coincidentally, so do Drake and Near.**


	20. Arrival

Cody and Raven sat near each other on the sandy beach, waves lapping onto the shore just past their shoes. They drank their soda and chatted about inconsequential things, enjoying the peace and quiet. Raven looked up at the full moon and smiled, thinking about her upcoming senior year, about Homecoming and Prom. Dresses weren't her thing, so she wasn't sure if she would go to homecoming, but she was planning on going to prom at the end of the year.

"Raven," Cody said, repeating her name.

Raven looked down from the moon and back to him with an apologetic smile. "Sorry Cody, just thinking about senior year."

Cody nodded that was fine and looked down at the almost empty soda can in his hand. "Um, Rave, I know today's a Monday, but what do you think about going somewhere tomorrow?"

"Somewhere where?" Raven asked and took a sip of her Arizona tea.

"Jungle Island," Cody said quickly," with me."

Raven stopped taking her sip and lowered the tall aluminum can, glancing over at Cody. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

The moonlight gave away Cody's blush as he ducked his head. "It might not be a VIP experience but I like walking around looking at all the animals and then going to Parrot Cove. You always seem to enjoy yourself whenever your mom took us and I know I like it."

Cody came from what some might call a "broken household" with an alcoholic father and no mother. It was common when they were younger for Cody to sleep over at the Greyson household to avoid his father, but those instances had become less common the older they had gotten. Raven knew Cody's father wasn't doing any better, but there were taboos about him staying at her house since he was a boy and she a girl that Raven's mother believed.

"Jungle Island sounds fine," Raven smiled.

Cody glanced up suddenly, looking a little surprised. Raven slugged him lightly on his arm for his surprise.

"What?" She teased. "Were you expecting me to say no?"

"Sort of," Cody admitted shyly, and Raven laughed softly.

"Tomorrow is a little sudden," Raven mused. "How about Wednesday? The manager there knows my mom, and I'm sure he'll manage to get us some reservations so we don't have to stand in line and buy tickets. I'll talk to him tomorrow morning."

Cody smiled brightly, and nodded energetically. Raven giggled at his childish demeanor and looked back towards the bonfire.

"Come on," she encouraged Cody and stood. "I think it's been long enough. Max should start his show soon."

Cody stood after her, and the two of them walked side-by-side back towards the bonfire. They made it back unchallenged, and Cody sighed dramatically when he saw beer cans. As Raven had suspected, some senior had brought alcohol. At least they had been smart enough to bring aluminum cans instead of glass bottles. This beach they were at was a smaller one used only by locals, and not a major tourist attraction since it had no boardwalk and was nothing more than sand and sea. Locals like the gathered students came here all the time to escape tourists, and no one wanted to step on broken glass.

Jeremy, Cody's skater friend that had brought the stereo and speakers, was stealing the beer cans off the table and stashing them in a trashbag to be disposed of later. The ocean and alcohol did not mix well, and usually mixed fatally. There were a few others raiding the supplies with him before someone who was drunk stumbled into the surf and drowned, and Cody shook his head. there was also the fact that everyone here was underage to think of because ending the night in the back of a cop cruiser, as had happened to some people in past bonfires, was not fun.

"I better go help them," Cody sighed. "I'll be right back Rave."

"That sounds like a good idea," Raven smiled.

Cody leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, and then joined his friends at the table to clear away the troublesome alcohol. Raven stood there, blush rising to her face. She raised a hand and touched her cheek where Cody had kissed her with the tips of her fingers, heartbeat quickened.

Raven smiled again, a softer, sincerer smile. She looked at Cody where he was now helping Jeremy and the others, and caught sight of her Shinigami ghost. Moon was sitting behind Jeremy's stereo as it blared out music, watching the party from afar. It didn't even look like he had noticed Raven had reappeared, but she didn't mind the break from him hovering at her shoulder. Being haunted got tiring after a while.

Turning away from the party, she walked so she was just outside of the waves. The waves lapped near the toes of her flip-flops as they washed up onto the shore, and a warm breeze tugged her black hair refreshingly. Light form the full moon painted the crests of the waves silver, and Raven could almost close her eyes and imagine she was in a dream. It truly was a perfect night for the bonfire.

She heard someone approach her and wrapped their arm around her shoulders. Her first guess was that Cody had come back, but she realized that Cody was too shy to cuddle up to her like other boys would. Raven glanced over her shoulder at her visitor, and the first thing she saw was the moonlight reflecting off the pearly surface of the shark tooth her visitor wore as a necklace.

Raven stepped away from her visitor in a sharp move, splashing into the surf that now washed her ankles. As she suspected, it was Peter Griffin. Peter Griffin slowly lowered his arm, the light from the bonfire giving him a black silhouette while the light of the moon illuminated his features. He had a curious, confused look as if he couldn't understand why Raven had broken the contact.

"Griffin," Raven addressed neutrally, "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"I suppose I am a little late, but I had to pick up some refreshments," Griffin said smoothly and held up a can of soda to her. "Want a sip?"

The moonlight gave away the fact that it was a can of "Coors Light" instead of Dr. Pepper. Peter had been the one who had brought the alcohol then. Raven had taken a few sips from her mother's wine, and disliked the taste of it. No social reception for adults ever stared without booze, and it removed the fetters of rationality. Alcohol was the antonym for cool-headedness, and Raven had seen what it could do to a person from Cody's father, and what a person might do when drunk from the bruises and cigarette burns on Cody's body.

"I have no taste for alcohol," Raven assured him.

Griffin looked a little disappointed, but shrugged and took a sip of the beer. From the angle he raised the can when he took his drink it seemed he had emptied the can. He dropped the can carelessly into the sand, and stepped towards her. Despite having emptied the can he was able to walk straight instead of sideways, so he couldn't have drunk much but even a little alcohol was enough to make you do things you wouldn't otherwise do. Wondrous, Raven thought to herself, a drunk Griffin was even more annoying to deal with than a sober one, and possibly more dangerous.

"Pardon me," Raven told him curtly, "I think I'll go get some chips."

She tried to walk around Griffin, but he grabbed her arm. "Going to see that worthless punk?"

Raven knew he was talking about Cody. "Do you consider Cody worthless because he doesn't live in a mansion like you do, Mr. Griffin?"

"He lives in a trailer park with the town drunk," Peter laughed. "How much worse can you get? Why are you interested in someone like him?"

Raven thought about her answer before calmly responding. "There is one thing that no person has any control over, and that is who their parents are. It is foolish to hold them accountable for something they have no say in. Besides, Cody has a nice smile."

"A nice smile," Peter repeated. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Peter," Raven sighed, "if you can't understand something as simple as the importance of being able to smile then you are really out of your league."

"Out of my league?" Peter demanded. "That's a laugh. Say, how about going to get dinner with me Wednesday?"

Now Peter was asking her out on a date?

"Sorry," Raven told him in a very unapologetic voice. "I already have plans for Wednesday."

"With him?" Peter snorted. "What a joke. He's just a drain on society."

"Well you're a drain on my patience so it levels out," Raven retorted and grabbed the hand Peter was holding her with.

She set her fingers on the pressure points in his hand and then twisted his hand backwards, fingernails digging into his skin. As it was supposed to do, Peter gasped in pain and Raven twisted the hand more, forcing Peter down to one knee. The surf washed against his hands, and Raven did not loosen her grip on his arm.

"I said I was going to get something to eat," Raven repeated. "Peter Griffin, get it through your thick skull that I have no interest in you. You go through way too fast, and I already have something to do Wednesday."

She released his hand and Peter dropped to his hands and knees, cradling his sore arm to his chest. Raven pointedly turned her back on him and walked back to the bonfire. No one had noticed the incident, and she tossed her empty can of Arizona Tea into a trashbag. Moon glanced at her as she walked by him towards where Cody and the others were removing the last of Peter's beer.

Amber and Lilly were dancing and with some of the better-mannered boys to the music, and Jacob was roasting a hotdog over one of the fires. Max was close to the bonfire with a cardboard box full of Ziplocs filled with different materials from around the house. This year he also had things like flour, sugar, and powered coffee creamer that could make flashy sparks instead of changing the color of the fire. He intended to do a campfire story, although some of the students were wary about it being boring.

It was amazing how no one had noticed her brush with Peter. There was no reason why they should, Raven mused. She was just one small person in a large world playing god, and the world wouldn't stop if she ordered it to. Hopefully though, Peter had gotten the hint and would stop.

"Cleanup going alright?" Raven asked Cody as she stole another Arizona tea flavored the way she liked, amazed there was one left on the empty table.

"We're almost done," Cody smiled again.

His smile was warm and soft, and it made Raven want to smile to. Cody's smile reached his eyes and warmed them, something that Peter's smile never did. Although Raven missed it, Cody saw Peter stalk by rubbing one of his hands up as he went to the parking lot where his truck was. Raven didn't mention anything so Cody pretended he hadn't seen Peter, deciding not to pry in something that Raven wasn't worried about.

Moon went back to looking over the beach, still debating over who Raven's replacement should be. Her friend Cody seemed like the most promising candidate so far, but Moon had a feeling he wouldn't be able to write down names without a second thought like Raven could. Even with the SPK out of the picture and Near on the run, Moon was still extremely wary of revealing the DEATH NOTE's existence to someone who might forgo it.

There was also the matter of the dragon Shinigami who had rescued Near from the raid on SPK headquarters. He had carried Near into the clouds and vanished, and Moon still wasn't sure that he had nothing to do with Near's name being blurred. It wasn't just Near's name though, Moon thought as he looked around the crowd of humans. Every single one of their names and death dates were skewed beyond recognition. Raven was no exception.

A move of this magnitude wasn't something one Shinigami should be able to do. To him, this level of power seemed like the Shinigami King's. The king had gotten involved at last, and not in Moon's favor. Something big was happening in the Shinigami Realm, and Moon didn't have the faintest idea what. It irked him even more then the fact he hadn't found a replacement for Raven. What exactly was going on?

Peter Griffin stalked to his truck as Max began to usher everyone to gather around for his story. He could hear chuckles come from the high school students as he walked to the bed of his truck where there were more beer cans. Right now, he needed a drink.

Something fell just within his peripheral version and bounced off the pickup's bed as it fluttered to the ground with a rustle of papers. Peter turned from his truck and looked down at a black notebook siting face down on the ground. He blinked at it, wondering where it had come from, and then knelt next to it. The human boy reached out and touched the cover as he went to pick it up, and then jerked back as something similar to an electric shock flew up his fingers.

Peter warily flexed his fingers as the odd sensation faded and picked up the notebook, turning it over and seeing letters on the front cover. "DEATH NOTE? What the hell is a DEATH NOTE?"

He tsskd and tossed it into the bed of his truck haphazardly as he fished out a beer bottle and popped open the top. Standing on one of the hills of sand near Peter Griffin was Drake. Drake's wings folded onto his back as a wind ruffled his longcoat, revealing that there was no DEATH NOTE tucked inside the jacket.

Although Drake might normally greet the new guardian of the DEATH NOTE right away, he knew humans tended to scream when they first saw a Shinigami. The noise might alert Moon and make him turn around, and Moon hadn't realized Drake was here yet. It would be better if Moon didn't realize that Drake was now in the same city as him.

There was also Near to take care of. Hopefully, Drake's new human would allow Near to rest at his home. It seemed obvious from having seen Raven almost break his wrist that Peter Griffin and Raven were not allies. He shouldn't have any qualms about helping Drake fight Raven and Moon. Besides, from what Drake had heard this human was especially rich and influential and having an ally like that might prove useful.

Drake spread his wings and left, unnoticed by Peter Griffin or Moon.

* * *

 **I don't know about you but Peter Griffin is now the guardian of a DEATH NOTE, and i'm a little concerned for what he might do when he reads the rules and tests them out (as i assure you he does in the next chapter). Drake doesn't know Peter's personality, all he knows is from watching the skirmish with Raven and the fact he's filthy rich. He might seem like a good ally, but I don't think things are going to turn out as planned.**

 **On top of that Raven's only got a week left to live and because of the Shinigami King's veil, no one knows the date of Peter Griffin's death. The last chapter was slow, and it allowed you readers to take a breath from the excitement. That break is over. All i can say is that this is going to be an insane week...**


	21. The Wrath of the Second DEATH NOTE

Midmorning the next day, the bonfire was out, ashes had been cleaned up with the beach, tables were gone, and the students had vanished. Peter Griffin was back at his family's manor, idly flipping through the blank pages of the black notebook he had dropped in the bed of his pickup truck. His hair was a mess, and he still had a slight headache from last night's hangover. Raven had said that Peter wasn't even in Cody's league, but how could that be possible? Cody was just some motherless trash.

"DEATH NOTE," Peter repeated the words written on the front cover and flipped back to the first page with the rules.

What was this bizarre thing? Even though it sounded like the way Kira killed, it was completely blank inside. Only the cover and rule page were interesting, and Peter wondered if some Kira fanatic hadn't just dropped it accidently half-finished. That seemed like the most plausible explanation.

"What a waste of my time," Peter muttered and tossed it over his shoulder to the floor of his room.

"I would handle it a little more carefully," a voice warned him.

Peter tensed as he sat in chair by his desk, holding his breathe. That wasn't the voice of his parents or any of the servants. So then, who was it?

Peter curled his hand into a fist and turned around in his chair. "Says who?"

His voice choked after he spat his question when he saw the intruder. It was someone who might have once been human, but no longer was. The intruder's giant white dragon wings shifted as the intruder knelt and picked up the notebook titled DEATH NOTE in a taloned, four-finger hand. Then the intruder straightened, revealing his features to be a horrid combination of dragon and human with random patches of skin, scale, and bone.

The intruder held out the DEATH NOTE to Peter Griffin, but Peter just stared at it. Slowly he looked from the notebook up to the dragon intruder holding it out to him, and then fainted. Drake looked in hesitant surprise as Peter Griffin slumped and fell out of his chair to the floor, soundly unconscious. Well, Drake sighed to himself, at least he hadn't screamed.

About an hour later, Peter Griffin was sitting in one of the empty rooms in his family's manor looking at the DEATH NOTE in his lap. His hangover had vanished with the appearance of the dragon intruder that he had learned was a Shinigami named Drake. After Peter had regained consciousness, Drake had told him a few basic facts and they had spoken briefly. Peter had agreed to help him, and Drake had left to return with the infamous Near himself.

"So this is the source of Kira's power," Peter mused to himself as he flipped to the page with the five rules.

"Yes it is," Drake repeated what he had said earlier.

Peter brushed some of his messy bangs out of his face, and looked back up at Drake and Near. He was half-convinced he was still asleep. The whole "death god" thing sounded fictional, and Near was present. Near, the "Lucifer" of the Kira religion who could fly and who had been recorded doing so in dozens of videos during the raid on SPK headquarters.

Near sat in a chair quietly, wearing a set of Peter's old clothes he had given to him, lost in thought about the current situation. Drake was next to him, one hand hovering over Near's chest as the Shinigami finished healing the damage done by the bullets. The Shinigami lowered his palm to his lap, and Peter hmphed quietly in thought.

"You're saying that I can kill _anyone_ I want just be writing their names down in this," Peter repeated.

"Anyone except for Raven Grayson," Drake agreed. "A holder of a DEATH NOTE cannot be killed by a DEATH NOTE."

"I see," Peter closed the cover of the notebook and looked at the title of white letters.

Drake didn't bother mentioning the Shinigami Eye Deal to Peter Griffin as there was no way someone with Shinigami eyes could see through the king's veil. For certain, Drake couldn't and he didn't even know when Peter Griffin's lifespan expired. He also didn't know what Near's death date had changed to after Drake had rescued him from the raid. Hopefully it would be sometime after Moon was dealt with.

"I would love to say that this is an impressive prank, but," Peter looked up at the Shinigami sitting across from him, "it's obviously not. Can I test this?"

Drake nodded, and Peter stood to track down a pen in the empty room. Near glanced sideways at Drake as Peter picked up a pen and turned to the first page. He was wondering why Drake hadn't just made Near the owner of his DEATH NOTE. Did Mello simply not want him to be changed into a Shinigami? That sounded like Mello, doing everything his own way.

Drake leaned back in the chair, looking out at nothing, lost in his memories of his human life. It would not be long before his human memories faded, and he wanted to savor them while they lasted. He heard the sound of Peter writing a name in the DEATH NTOE, and he must have written in details of the death from how long it took him before he put the pencil he had found down and picked the notebook up again.

"Well," Peter said and held the notebook casually in one hand. "I'll know soon enough if this worked. No one's using this room, so you can stay here for now. Wash up and I'll get some food for you without the servants finding out you're here."

A shower and hot meal sounded wonderful to Near.

"I take it you really are human then?" Peter asked Near.

"Drake was carrying me," Near assured him. "I cannot fly under my own power."

"Right," Peter mused and held the notebook to his chest protectively.

He left to return to his own room with the DEATH NOTE, and Near watched him leave. It was a little surprising that Drake didn't follow him. Weren't Shinigami supposed to "haunt" their humans?

"Thank you for healing me Mello," Near addressed Drake once Peter had gone.

"Mello is a human name," Drake sighed, repeating himself. "I am not human anymore."

Near didn't say anything else as he stood and walked to the bathroom to take a nice warm shower. Drake let Near leave unchallenged and looked out the window of the Griffin manor. It was a large gated estate with a four-story manor that overlooked the city beneath, far enough away from the heart of the town to not be overwhelmed by noise or tourists.

Drake watched the humans move like ants, swarming the beaches or driving in their cars. They seemed so miniscule and short-lived it was almost sad. He wondered to himself if he should have given the DEATH NOTE to Near after all instead of to this arrogant Peter Griffin. Near was a being who would make use of immortality after his death, but was Peter?

He hadn't had a choice. The power of the DEATH NOTE ensured Peter's allegiance, and right now it was the only thing that was doing so. Drake wondered absentmindedly whose name Peter Griffin had written down, but doubted it was of anyone of immediate concern.

* * *

Raven smiled, and slurped up a mouthful of noodles with the chopsticks that had come with the Chinese food she had ordered. The house phone sat to her left contently, now turned off. She had ordered the tickets needed to go to Jungle Island. Although they would still have to pay some at the gate, they had a discount and reservations so they could skip the line.

Moon was thinking on the roof again, and Raven picked up the phone to dial Cody and tell him they were on for tomorrow. Although he didn't have a cellphone, he should have a home phone unless the line had gotten cut again. She dialed their number and held the phone to her ear as she took a bite out of her eggroll.

It rang several times, a sign that the line was live, but no one answered. Raven sighed and set the phone back down. She finished off her eggroll and picked up another mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks. Cody spent as little time with his father at their apartment as possible, so it was likely he was out at the skate park or beach. No doubt his father had used the money Cody earned from his part-time jobs to buy some more beer and was now passed out drunk.

She sighed and finished up her meal. Oh well, Cody had agreed to come over to her house at 8am tomorrow. With a smile as she thought about how much fun she was going to have tomorrow with Cody she went back to her dinner she had ordered.

* * *

"Cody," Mr. Sharp, Cody's father slurred as he stumbled towards Cody's room with a half-empty beer bottle in his hand.

He banged into the door to Cody's room and it fell open. Through blurred sight he saw that Cody's room was empty. His son's skateboard was leaning against the wall near the door, and above it was a coatrack. Two of the hooks were taken up by his helmet and fingerless gloves he wore when he was skating, and with it was his black denim jacket he wore when it was colder out. Cody had to be here somewhere.

"Cody," his father slurred again and slammed a hand against the wall loudly. "Come out sue brat!"

That was normally enough to make Cody come out, but this time he didn't. His father scowled and stalked around, looking for his worthless son. Where had he gone this time? The keys to Mr. Sharp's blue truck that Cody sometimes stole were still hanging in the kitchen.

He stumbled around, bumping into the chair in the living room as he looked for Cody. As he was walking, he stepped sideways and fell into the bathroom door. It wasn't latched, and fell open. Cody's father fell after it and landed on the floor. His beer bottle fell from his hand and rolled across the tile floor to the bathtub.

There was someone sitting in front of the bathtub with his left wrist hanging into the bathtub. Blood stained the wrist that had been sliced open and the floor of the bathtub. The victim's eyes were half-open and glazed over in death, and the knife from the kitchen that had sliced open his wrist was in his other hand.

Cody's father looked at the body dazedly, and then sat up. Forgetting about his bottle, he stood, and caught sight of the mirror over the sink. A sentence had been scrawled on its surface in black sharpie that read: " _I don't deserve her_."

He looked from the message to the suicide victim had left and then at the body of the teenager at the bathtub.  
"Cody?" Cody' father whispered.

Cody didn't answer, nor would he ever speak again thanks to the wrist he had slit. He was dead.

* * *

DEATH NOTE entry:

 _Cody Sharp Suicide Leaves a suicide note reading "I don't deserve her"_

* * *

 **Needless to say, it wasn't Raven who wrote that in her DEATH NOTE. Were you wondering what Peter wrote in his DEATH NOTE?**

 **What will tomorrow bring when Raven learns that Cody is dead, and what will happen when she realizes who killed him?**

 _ ***The DEATH NOTE is Peter Griffin's. Originally i mentioned it being Cody's, but that is an error. Cody does not have a DEATH NOTE. Sorry for any confusion.**_


	22. Hello Moon

Raven turned her cellphone off and ended the call with a sigh. There was still no answer at the Sharp place, and she was getting antsy. She and Cody needed to work out the details of their trip to Jungle Island tomorrow, and yet no one was answering the home phone. A glance at the lower corner of one of her monitors confirmed that it was about 2pm, and that the day would start to run out.

Normally, Cody didn't like her coming to his place. It was understandable why Cody didn't want Raven to meet his father, but Raven was starting to get tempted to drive down there and check out the situation. If she really wanted to go on her date with Cody tomorrow then it wasn't like she had a choice. They had to work out the details today.

She stood with a sigh, and went downstairs to her car, grabbing her keys on the way. It was not the least bit surprising to see Moon hanging out in the shadow cast by the house near her garage, and he glanced up at her curiously. He had been thinking about Raven's replacement on the roof, aware that she only had six days left to live.

"Stay," Raven ordered her Shinigami. "I'm just going to drive down to Cody's place to work out the details of tomorrow. There's no reason for you to come with me."

Moon didn't argue the point, which was a surprise. "Are you going to contact Sayu?"

Raven was surprised by Moon's question as she manually unlocked the door to her car. Curious, she turned to face him.

"Do you not want me to?" Raven asked honestly. "She is your sister, so I understand why you wouldn't want me to."

"She was Light Yagami's sister," Moon corrected softly. "Shinigami don't have siblings."

Raven smiled at him softly, understanding what he was saying. "Then why do you sound so hesitant? It's obvious you don't want to get her involved anymore in Kira for her own safety. I agree that since Light Yagami is becoming " _the emissary of Kira_ " she would be influential, but right now, I have Mei Akiyama. I don't need Sayu."

Moon was still quiet, and Raven looked up at the clear blue sky as she remembered that she needed to contact Akiyama and give her a message to broadcast. Raven didn't have the exact words she wanted rehearsed, but the message was something along the lines of having the other people help her find Near, and post information online if they should see him or knew about him. Of course, there was probably people who would make up information for amusement or to try and earn Kira's favor, so Raven needed to make it clear that the only information posted should be accurate. Maybe she could contact the FBI or some of the other intelligence organizations and ask them to help. She might be able to swing that.

She opened her car door and got inside, putting the key in the ignition. Moon started to drift towards the car, and Raven glared at him through the driver's window.

" _Stay_ ," Raven emphasized. "You've been clinging to me more than usual lately. Is something going on I should know about?"

"No," Moon said to try and make Raven forget it.

It didn't work, and Raven narrowed her eyes at him. "There is something going on. What am I missing?"

Moon glanced at her, and Raven realized after a second that he was looking above her head rather than directly at her. She went still, remembering Moon describing his ability to see names of people as seeing red letters floating above their head. Above their name was supposed to be a string of numbers that stood for the date of their death, numbers the Shinigami could turn into a date. He was looking at her death date.

Raven thought she understood and leaned back in the seat, looking at the steering wheel in front of her. "Moon, what's the date of my death?"

Her guess was right if the way Moon reacted to the question was any indication, and Moon realized she'd caught him.

"I don't know," Moon replied honestly and looked away. "The names and dates of everyone are blurred out, including yours. I said that already."

"Okay," Raven admitted. "What about before this ' _veil'_ was drawn over the humans. What was my death date back when you could still see it?"

One of the rules of the Shinigami was not to tell humans the date of their death. It was the one rule Moon hadn't broken yet, and he was wary of disobeying the primary rule Shinigami followed.

"It's changed once already since you've gotten the DEATH NOTE," Moon parried without answering. "Since I can't see it there's no way to know if it changed again."

It would be very convenient if it had lengthened without Moon's knowledge, but Moon doubted it. Raven leaned forward without a sound and started her little Volkswagen. There was nothing she could do if Moon wasn't going to tell her, although if his wariness was any indication then she guessed her death would be soon. That didn't help her mood as she put her car in reverse to back out of the driveway.

Moon let her go unchallenged, and watched her leave from the garage. He spread his wings and flew back to the roof of the Greyson house to think about things. There was quite a bit to think about, not in the least being Raven's approaching death, where Near was now and what he was doing, and the white dragon Shinigami who had saved Near. He also had to admit he was confused about what to do with Sayu, and wondering why Aizawa and the Japanese Taskforce were silent. Surely, they would be on the case. Then again, they were harmless without a competent detective like L leading them.

Moon looked up at the clear blue sky as Raven had not long ago, and sighed. What to do, what to do. As he mused over his options, something overshadowed him. His first instinct was that it wasn't anything of his concern, but then he heard leathery wingbeats and knew the sound was out of place. The only thing with leather wings was dragons, and they weren't real.

Moon turned on his perch and the ember orbs that doubled as his eyes brightened in shock just before the approaching Shinigami tackled him off the roof of the Grayson house. He fell backwards as his attacker released him to fall, and then snapped out his own bone wings before he hit the ground. A quick wingbeat rightened him, and the Shinigami that had struck him circled around to come before him. The two hovered in midair across from each other, and Moon's eyes darkened.

"You," he growled at the Shinigami before him. "You're the one who saved Near. What are you doing here?"

Drake tssked and raised his left hand, letting the bone spur positioned on the top of his wrist slid out into a sharp claw that went over his fingers, about the length of his forearm. Moon drew the bone staff slung over his shoulder when he did that, ready for a fight. It was lucky that armed Shinigami inherently knew how to use their weapon because otherwise Moon would have been hopeless with it.

"Me?" Drake demanded and pointed the bone spike at Moon. "What about you, _Light Yagami_?"

Moon was only mildly surprised to hear his human name used.

"Here to protect your human?" Drake challenged. "Hmph. You killed so many humans during your reign as Kira and now you protect one, Light Yagami."

"What do you know about me?" Moon challenged.

"You killed me," Drake spread his arms to either side of him.

"A Kira fledgling," Moon muttered and then spoke louder. "Since you know so much about me why don't you tell me your name?"

"Drake," Drake introduced.

"Not that name," Moon corrected him. "You're as young as me so you should still have your human memories. If you want me to know what I did to you then you'll have to tell me your human name. As you said I killed a lot of people."

Drake dove at him with his claw instead of answering, and Moon deflected the attack on his staff, flying sideways to avoid him. He got a close-up view of the bone claw and was amazed that all of the edges were as sharp as the edge of a sword. His parry wasn't perfect and Drake's claw skimmed the sleeve of his jacket, tearing it instantly.

Moon beat his wings and flew backwards, trying to put some distance between himself and Drake. He hadn't really practiced with his weapon, and he was starting to regret that. Drake clearly had. To make the situation worse, Drake exposed a second bone claw from his other wrist that was identical to the first.

"What are you trying to do?" Moon demanded as Drake pressed the attack. "Shinigami can't kill each other!"

"There once were eight brothers," Drake told Moon in a voice as if he was going to tell a story. "The youngest of the eight became jealous of his siblings and their power, and so he killed six of them. His oldest brother survived, and he fought his one remaining brother for control of his world."

"I know the story," Moon assured him as a claw strike tore the front of his jacket and he evaded a second. "The youngest of the eight brothers was our future king, and he used to be an angel. Heaven is the Shinigami Realm. Shinigami are a new generation of angels twisted by death the king made, and there are no real angels left. What of it?"

"So you know," Drake smiled, "just what I would expect considering how perfectly you played me. Here I thought you were just an average high schooler. You had me fooled."

So Moon had killed this person before he had been accepted into To-Oh university, but who was he? A strike from Drake scratched the bone plate on his chest, and Moon desperately tried to strike at him while he was near. Drake dipped below the strike and flew behind Moon. Moon tried to turn or move out of the way, but Drake brought his strike down on Moon's wings first.

Moon felt pain at last and toppled from the sky to the ground, landing flat on his back with his weapon landing some ways away from him. He was dazed, and Drake landed beside him. Drake put his foot on Moon's throat and raised one of his claws to Moon's eye socket.

"I don't care all that much what you did to me," Drake admitted. "You played me and made a fool of me. I deserved this. Naomi didn't deserve to die though!"

"Naomi," Moon repeated, knowing he had heard that name before.

"Naomi Misora," Drake snarled. "You killed her after you killed me!"

"Y-you're," Moon whispered as he looked up at Drake in sudden recognition, "Raye… Penber?"

Drake, once called Raye Penber, gave a smile distorted by his reptilian features. "Clever as always, Yagami. You say Shinigami can't kill Shinigami, do you? Perhaps they can't under the protection of the immortal Shinigami King. You are not under his protection anymore though, are you?"

Moon seriously doubted that he was after everything that had happened, and he looked for his weapon only to see it out of reach.

"Let's see about your theory Yagami," Drake pulled his arm back to strike. "Let's see if a Shinigami can die!"

Drake thrust his blade forward for a killing stroke. This was for Naomi!

* * *

 **The mystery is over, Drake is Raye Penber. Thank you all who guessed, and i am surprised by how many of you guessed correctly. Well done to everyone.**

 **Now that we know who Drake is, I can reveal the identity of some of the other Kira fledglings still in the Shinigami Realm. I couldn't do that before because every name i gave would limit the possibility of who Drake really was and make it easier to guess. Now i can go back to the Shinigami Realm and the Kira fledglings there.**

 **Things have really dissolved in the Shinigami Realm, just like things are getting out of control in the human world.**


	23. Approaching War

_Shinigami Realm_

Winter stood on the top of one of the bone structures, a few Shinigami milling about him below. Just as he had thought, the release of Ryuk by the Kira fledglings had raised the ire of the Shinigami King. It wasn't every day that the Shinigami King tore the wings off one of his people, yet he had grounded the two Shinigami who had seen Ryuk right before his release.

He claimed they had led Hela to Ryuk and showed her how to break him out. Although Winter and the other Kira fledglings who stayed with him had avoided immediate danger, they were still getting sideways glares by the older Shinigami. Things were becoming very dangerous in the Shinigami Realm, and the windows and pathways to the human world were still sealed.

A Shinigami landed beside Winter on one of the bone spurs that looked oddly like ribs, and Winter glanced slightly at him. It wasn't one of his friends, and that made Winter wary. The Shinigami didn't appear to be armed, so Winter figured he would be fine. Out of habit though, he crossed his arms over his chest where his weapon was hidden inside his black leather jacket.

The threat came not from the Shinigami next to him, but one of the ones below him. When the one landed beside Near, one of the Shinigami sitting on the ground gambling took his metal-tipped whip off his belt and uncoiled it. It wasn't until Winter heard the crack of the whip that he jumped to attention.

His movement was too slow, and the whip wrapped itself around his ankle. Winter drew his weapon from its holster, but he was yanked off the bone and to the ground before he could aim. The crack of him pulling the trigger was useless and Winter crashed to the ground where he was promptly ambushed by the other Shinigami.

They had him pinned in a moment and the Shinigami that had been standing next to him jumped down from the bone and picked up the weapon Winter had been reincarnated with. It was his Beretta 92FS he had used as a human, and the Shinigami looked it over in amusement. The gold cross that hung from its handle swayed as the Shinigami looked over the silver pistol with the black grip and gold detailing.

"Such a modern weapon for a god of death," the Shinigami scorned, making Winter realize that the Shinigami was a she.

"What do you want?" Winter demanded when he realized that he couldn't get free.

"Nothing from you," the Shinigami assured him as she looked down the sight of Winter's pistol.

Clearly, she was familiar with a concept of a gun, so she couldn't be too old of a Shinigami. Her wings were long and narrow like Ryuk, but were made of a frame of bone that crisscrossed like overlapping x's instead of the normal bone structure of a wing. It was filled in with shards of glass like a stained glass window, would be but the glass was not beautifully colored. Hers was colorless and it was chipped, cracked, and tarnished so you could no longer see through it clearly. Her eyes were compound eyes made of the same glass, and there were more shards tangled in her hair best described as matted or scraggly that reached down to her mid-back.

"I might not have been here for more than a few years, but I like it." The Shinigami with Winter's pistol said by way of greeting. "Things could be called boring, but they are also stable. Or at least they were before you Kira fledglings began showing up."

At a motion from her, the Shinigami pinning Winter to the ground hoisted him upright so he was standing before Dusk. One Shinigami held each of his arms, and the others hovered should he try something. Winter wasn't stupid enough to do so given the circumstances, but he wondered where his friends were. They should have been here by now, and the addition of them would even the odds Winter was against.

She raised the pistol to the center of Winter's forehead with a smirk, revealing she had teeth like a tiger shark. Winter didn't even blink, not worried. Then she lowered it to Winter's right shoulder and pulled the trigger. The sound like a crack of thunder was startling, but the bullet didn't even tear Mello's clothes despite being his own weapon.

"Hmm," she hummed. "I half thought it would hurt you. The Shinigami on Earth are capable of being hurt by other Shinigami, but it seems that doesn't apply here."

"What?" Winter asked stupidly. "Shinigami can commit suicide by saving a human life, or die by forgetting to write human names in their DEATH NOTE, but they can't be injured or killed."

"They can now," she promised him with a smile.

Winter narrowed his eyes like two orbs of lapis lazuli, unsure what she was talking about or who she was. She tilted her head at him and sighed softly.

"You don't remember me, do you?" She asked.

"Should I?" Winter asked sarcastically.

She stepped forward and with her free hand traced the large scar that went down from Winter's left eye to below his shoulder. "How did you get that?"

"I blew up a building," Winter said sarcastically.

"With yourself in it?" She asked, and then chuckled softly. "Always reckless Mello. I'm not surprised you're dead."

Winter slowly raised his eyes to her, and she smiled without showing her teeth. "Who are you?"

"An old friend you killed," she chuckled lightly. "Does the name Dawn sound familiar?"

Winter, Mello, hung his head without responding.

"It should," the Shinigami told him with a snap of her voice. "You killed me on the Mafia's orders. I was the daughter of the director of the FBI, so I understand why you targeted me. When you killed me you earned the Mafia's trust, and allowed to work your way up to leader as you became. All it took was one life."

"You had a DEATH NOTE," Winter said softly. "I didn't know."

"Of course I had a DEATH NOTE," Dawn slumped her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Why do you think the Mafia was so scared of me? They sent you to eliminate me, and prove your loyalty and ruthlessness. It wasn't to encourage my father to stop prying into Mafia affairs. It was to stop me from killing their leaders. Out of curiosity Mello, why are you called Winter?"

"It probably has something to do with my wings," Winter replied in the same tart tone she was using, still too surprised to say anything more intelligent. "Why are you attacking me?"

"The first time I met you was when you saved me from a car crash," Dawn remembered off topic. "You pulled me from the burning wreckage not long before the car exploded, and gained the trust of myself and my family. If the Mafia hadn't purposely run my chauffeur and I off the road so you could swoop in and be the hero, I might be flattered. It took you a few months to earn the trust of my foster family and myself so they would lower their guard, but they did, and it was easy for you to kill me. When you saw the chance, you slit my throat."

Dawn was attacking out of revenge then. Winter could understand her motives, and she was using their history to get the other Shinigami to listen to her since she would not hesitate to harm him as revenge for her murder. The other Shinigami were riled, unable to write down human names to increase their lifespan now. As Winter was a Kira fledgling, it had been made all the easier.

"Besides," Dawn added. "I can't write down the names of any humans so my lifespan is ticking away. It's curious, but I never thought I'd get my revenge after I died. You didn't just kill me you hurt Gelus, badly. He's the one who gave me my DEATH NOTE, and he watched my blood stain the carpet in my room thanks to you."

"You're worried about a Shinigami?" Winter smiled, "surprising."

"Gelus had a kind heart before he died the second time," Dawn warned Winter. "He would sit on the roof of our patio and watch as I played hide-and-seek in the backyard with my dear friend Misa Amane. He was the older brother I never had."

Although the name Gelus didn't sound familiar to Winter, he knew Misa Amane from the Kira Investigation. He hadn't remember that Dawn was childhood friends with the second Kira. Perhaps this explained a few things in some strange way.

"I can't kill you right now with the king's blessing still in place here," Dawn admitted, "but I can bring you to him. He wants all Kira fledglings in his custody with the group that freed Ryuk most of all, so he'll be glad to have you. The more time that passes without him capturing Ryuk and his friends the shorter his temper will become. I hope he'll take it out on you with the nine levels of punishment, or let me eliminate you. Both for what you did to me and for how you hurt Gelus when you killed me."

Winter hissed softly at her, and she smiled. Dawn nodded, and the Shinigami holding him spread their wings and dragged him into the air. She looked at his pistol as she unfolded her wings from her back and took off after them.

Winter looked around at them, wondering exactly where his friends had gone and why they were taking so long. Dawn was probably right about the Shinigami King's temper, and right now Winter wasn't in a very good position. He was dragged into the sky with Dawn flying behind him.

That was the moment, the perfect moment, when Winter's friends finally appeared. Someone stirred behind the dark washed-out clouds and dived down. The new Shinigami dove like a falcon and dragged one of the Shinigami holding Winter off him and down. There was a shriek from the victim, and suddenly Winter had one of his arms free.

He unfurled his wings into their stunning beauty and then punched the other Shinigami still holding him. It was a solid hit, and he delivered a few more before shaking his remaining captor free. Dawn pulled his pistol and shot at Winter. The shot missed Winter, and Winter's ally took the hit.

He flinched and then threw the Shinigami he had grabbed to the ground where he crashed and caused a small crater. Then he drew the two M1 trench knives hidden within his jacket and held them in reverse grip.

"Mello!" He called out.

Winter glanced at him and then knocked his other captor out of the sky, making for Dawn and his stolen Beretta. Dawn shoved Winter's Beretta into a ribbon of blue and white that encircled her waist, and then held her hands towards him, palms loose.

She was wearing a pair of tattered fingerless black gloves that reached her elbows, and a pair of leggings of the same design that reached up to her knees. The shards of glass tangled in her hair were also lodged into her skin and gloves, and light reflected off them as she curled her hands into fists. Winter tried to steal his Beretta back, but Dawn punched him first. It was a solid hit, and the sheer strength behind it knocked Winter down.

He was propelled backwards and crashed into the ground, forming a crater where he landed. Winter laid on his back, too dazed to move from the force. Winter's friend stared at him and then at Dawn in stupor as glass crystallized around her gloves and leggings to form a pair of armored gauntlets and greaves.

"Guess what Mello," Dawn smiled. "I'm a little stronger then I was as a human."

"Noted," Winter grumbled as he slowly sat up and shook his head to try and remove the haze.

His friend with the trench knives swooped in towards Dawn, dodging a few of her punches. He slashed her with his trench knives, but they didn't even tear her tattered clothing. Thankfully, he managed to avoid her as he grabbed the grip of Winter's pistol and remove it from Dawn's custody without getting hit.

"Mello!" He called as he quickly put some distance between himself and Dawn and threw the Beretta down towards Winter.

Winter plucked it from the air as he stood and spread his wings, shaking off the rest of his daze. He pointed it at Dawn, and then hesitated. What good was it to fight when both opponents were immortal and invulnerable?

"Matt!" Winter called up instead. "Let's go!"

Matt glanced down at Winter as he held his trench knives, and then nodded and disengaged. Winter shot at Dawn as he took off, distracting her. Suddenly, Matt swooped down feet first in one of his favorite dive-bombs and landed his kick solidly on Dawn's left wing. It made her wing buckle and her altitude dropped dramatically.

That was the moment when Winter and Matt bolted for it. This simply wasn't a fight that could be fought, let alone won by any faction. Dawn recovered from her fall and landed gently on the ground. She looked after the two and growled softly in disgust. It might not be today, but Dawn would give Mello what was coming to him.

* * *

 **I understand why they didn't mention Mello's past with the Mafia, but I want to exemplify it. He goes from being a brilliant orphan to a leader of the Mafia with no information on how. Perfect fill in the gap territory. Gelus is a unique Shinigami in the matter that he cares about humans, so he's fill in the gap as well.**

 _ ***Note: Although many Shinigami have Shinigami names, some still use their human names. Dawn and Matt are human names, while Winter and Moon are not.**_


	24. Pain

_Human World_

Raven was thinking about the amusement park and the day's adventures to come when she approached the Sharp place, but her thoughts changed when he saw the blue and red police sirens. She leaned forward over the steering wheel, and then put the car into park. Without looking away from the lights, she climbed out of the car and tore herself free of her seatbelt. Her purse was left in the car, and Raven barely remembered to close the car door before she hurried up.

Two police cars and an ambulance were stationed outside near the Sharp's place, and Cody Sharp's father was standing near a police officer, talking. There was no sign of a fire or break-in, but a crowd had gathered anyway. She heard whispers in the crowd, but wasn't sure what they were saying. Perhaps it was because Raven was trying to block out the thoughts. If Cody's father was safe then where was Cody?

"What happened?" She whispered to some of the people as she approached the crowd.

No one would answer. Their heads were lowered and they weren't making eye contact. Panic blossomed in her chest like a bloody rose, and Raven began to shoulder through the crowd. Most of them knew her from her periodic visits to the Sharp place, and they shifted aside to let her pass. The bloody rose of terror blossomed even more and Raven hurried to the front.

There were police officers around the door, and Raven stopped for a moment. After a hesitant moment, she left the crowd and walked forward to the yellow crime scene tape that had been strung around the area. One of the police officers went to greet her, hands rising as he approached.

"I am sorry miss, but this is a secure area," the officer warned.

"What happened?" Raven asked urgently, trying to look past the officer inside to no avail.

"I can't disclose details miss," the officer said apologetically.

Another car pulled up next to the ambulance, and Raven almost started shaking when she saw it was a coroner's car. Someone was dead, and if Cody's father was standing outside then _where was Cody_? She felt her breath catch as she looked back at the house.

"What happened?" She repeated, urgently. "Where's Cody?"

"Miss," the officer tried to ration.

"Don't miss me!" Raven ordered. "Where's Cody!?"

He didn't answer so Raven, in a fit of sudden fear, ducked underneath the yellow tape. The police officer made the mistake of trying to stop her, and Raven lashed out, giving into a suffocating need to get inside and find Cody. Cody had to be all right after all. They had a date tomorrow, and he'd even kissed her last night and said it was a deal.

One strike landed on the officer's knee, forcing it to one side and snapping it at an unnatural angle. There was enough force behind the knee to splinter the bones, making his leg buckle. In the same instant, she slammed a palm into his throat and snapped his head back at an unnatural angle. His trachea bruised, making him cough and double over. Another kick forced him flat on the ground, and then Raven was running past him to the door inside.

A second officer tried to stop her just before she reached the door, but Raven jumped and landed a sidekick in the center of his chest without stopping her dash. She got adequate airtime, and he was knocked inside and landed hard against the floor, actually tumbling head over heels to land on his stomach. Raven had too much momentum to land on her feet, so she somersaulted when she landed and ended on her feet. They were inside the house now and the police officer was already shaking his head and pushing himself up to his knees and elbows. Raven kicked his forehead backwards with the toe of her shoe. He was knocked onto his side, suitably stunned.

She waited for a moment in fighting stance with her fists raised, but there were no more officers waiting for him. Free at last, she looked around and then started to run to find Cody. He had to be here, he just had to be. Where was he though? The officers would be on their feet in a moment and more were coming, so she had to find him before they came.

Panic-stricken she went almost blindly from room to room, aware the coroner had been present. Finally, she came to a stop in front of one of the bathroom doors, and took a ragged breath. Where was Cody?

The bathroom door was partially open, and she glanced inside, and then stopped. Written inside on the bathroom mirror were the words " _I don't deserve her_." Raven's eyebrows drew together and she pressed her fingers against the surface of the door, slowly nudging it open. It opened slowly, and Raven took a cautious step inside.

She smelled it before she saw it, a thick metallic scent that was similar to the time Raven had put a penny under her tongue. She had heard that you could put a penny under your tongue to hide the scent of alcohol on your breath. Although she didn't have any alcohol she had put a penny under her tongue on a dare from Cody. Cody hadn't been able to notice if her breath smelled different, leaving both children, second-graders at the time, confused about the myth.

It was that innocent memory that came to Raven's mind, and that taste on her tongue and in her nostrils as she turned and looked over towards the bathtub. Red colored her vision, and for one choking moment that was all she could see or breathe. She had drawn blood before, bloody noses or that rapist-to-be who had tried to strip Amber one night in an ally when she had turned her switchblade on him. The sight of blood simply didn't make her feel squeamish, and so it was even more of a surprise that Raven's legs gave at the sight of blood this time.

She drooped to her knees without a sound, unable to tear her eyes away from the image before her. Cody Sharp was sitting on the ground of the bathroom, his left wrist hanging over the bathtub. It had been slit by a kitchen knife hanging limply from his right hand that rested on the ground. Blood lined the bathtub and some of it had run over the edge to the floor. It wasn't very much blood that Raven could see from where she had collapsed, but for some reason she couldn't move.

Cody Sharp was dead. The message drawn into the mirror in place of a suicide note seemed to mock Raven. Police officers, a different pair from the ones Raven had downed, approached. She didn't argue with them as they dragged her to her feet. Vaguely, she was aware of them speaking as she was dragged to her feet and her arms crossed behind her back. Handcuffs were tightened around her wrists. It seemed they were taking her into custody for assaulting the police officers.

Raven hardly noticed, her hair fallen haphazardly into her eyes, unable to glance away from the body of her oldest friend. Cody had kissed her, promised they would have a date. He couldn't be dead. The police officers were reciting her Miranda rights as if she was in a late-night criminal show like CSI or Criminal Minds, and a detached part of Raven recognized that.

"Cody," Raven whispered.

The police officers dragged her from the bathroom, and out of sight of Cody's body. Her heart felt very heavy, and it hurt. The level of pain that she felt astounded her. Even without being able to see the body, Raven could still taste the blood she had inhaled when she had stood over his prone form, the scent so similar to a simple copper penny.

* * *

Moon lay sprawled out on the front lawn of the Greyson residence, unable to move. Beside him were the broken halves of his staff. A slight hiss from Moon, and Drake put his foot on Moon's throat. One of his wings was broken and twisted with fragments of bone littering the ground. A black substance like ink or oil had stained the grass where his wing was broken, and more from his torn longcoat where the bone plate on his chest was chipped. His right eye socket was dim and bled black tears, the skull damaged and eye sightless. There were scratches and tears littering the rest of his clothing and the bone chest plate.

"A pity," Drake purred as he raised one of his claws to Moon again. "I would have expected more of a fight. I suppose you really are all brains, dead or alive. The King's disgust for you removes your invulnerability, but not your immortality. How do you kill a god of death?"

"I wouldn't know," Moon replied sarcastically.

His one remaining eye looked over Drake, and Moon noticed something quite interesting. Drake had not escaped uninjured either. There was damage to his clothing as well, and the skin of his right wing was torn.

"It appears you've misspoken," Moon chided Drake, aware that the black liquid he was bleeding tasted like slimy, stagnate water. "I am not the only one the Shinigami is disgusted with if you would look at your wing."

Drake's eyes flickered briefly to his wing and the damage on it. He tightened his lipless jaws together.

"Rather," Moon corrected. "It seems just as he has placed all of Earth under a veil to hide the names of the humans, just as he has removed the invulnerability of all Shinigami currently on it. I would guess there remains just the one way to kill us, and I assure you I do not care for Raven enough to die for her."

Drake smiled in amusement. "I believe you, but I wonder if you might not for someone else. Say, a certain young woman living in the Kanto region of Japan."

Moon didn't instantly understand, but then he did.

"Little miss Yagami," Drake purred. "I believe her name was Sayu. I investigated her just as I did you and the rest of the Yagami family. Would you kill a human to save her?"

It took Moon a moment to phrase a response. "I don't think it's any concern of mine. She was the sister of Light Yagami, but I am the Shinigami Moon and I have no family."

"Sure you don't care," Drake mused. "Why did you hesitate to answer?"

Moon didn't respond, and that made Drake smile.

"I can't kill you, so I'll take my leave," Drake promised. "You killed my fiancée, so I suppose it's only fitting that I kill your sister. I'll see you around, Yagami Light."

Drake extended his wings to their full length as his claws retracted and then he took off, using Moon as a springboard. Moon remained lying there long after Drake left. He wasn't sure how fast a Shinigami healed or if it healed, and he hurt. The last time he had felt pain was as a human when Matsuda had shot him. Sayu was going to be killed. At the moment, Moon was more concerned with how long it would take for the pain to stop and for his wing to heal because he did not want to lose his ability to fly now that he had adapted to it.

Right now, all he was aware of was the pain because he was suddenly aware that being a Shinigami wasn't quite as amusing as it had been a day ago.

* * *

 **Raven panicked. Now that it is her friend she panicked, and you can imagine what will happen to Peter Griffin when she finds out he killed Cody. Remember, she only has six days left to live. That number hasn't changed. I do wonder if Drake's threat of targeting Sayu will bother Moon. He is right about one thing: he's not Light Yagami.**

 _ ***Disclaimer: Do not attack police officers in real life. This is fiction so Raven does whatever I want, but don't repeat this. Assaulting a police officer is a felony.**_


	25. Friction

_Shinigami Realm_

Dawn sat on one of the cliff edges, looking out over the Shinigami Realm with her Shinigami gathered scattered around her. She was thinking back to Winter – Mello – and the Shinigami that had given her her DEATH NOTE. He had been gentle and somewhat timid for a Shinigami, looking like a poorly sewn together and mismatched doll with only one eye. The last image she had right before Mello killed her was him crying – actually crying – and saying that he wouldn't let another human he cared about die. Ren, another Shinigami, had told Dawn he had sacrificed himself to do just that. Gelus had always been gentle, but in his own way, very brave.

She watched the grey sky, her expression a cross between wistfulness for her Shinigami friend and frustration at Mello's escape. One of her Shinigami, ignoring the dangerous aura surrounding her, dared to approach. It was the Shinigami with the metal-tipped whip which had dragged Mello to the ground earlier, and he flew up to stand next to Dawn's perch.

"You look so much nicer when you don't sulk," he told her.

"Shut up fledgling," Dawn snapped at him. "I do not wish to speak to you."

"I might be a Kira fledgling," the Shinigami said and sat unceremoniously close to Dawn, "but I am on your side."

Dawn snorted, tempted to crystallize one of her gauntlets to deter the fledgling. Kyosuke Higuchi, whether as a human or Shinigami, was unbearable. He was forceful and selfish, and greedy besides. She was not beautiful, being a Shinigami, but she was female. That was all Higuchi needed to try to cling to Dawn, but he had yet to try directly on her. If not for her monstrous strength, she was certain he would have already tried something.

Dawn turned her head, about to demand that he leave her alone and accent her demand with a gauntlet when pain made her duck her head. A ringing noise echoed in her ears, and she put a hand to her forehead as pain spiked through her skull. Her first thought was that Higuchi had done something to her, but he cringed beside her at a splitting migraine that had suddenly overcome him.

The Shinigami Dawn had earned the allegiance of gave assorted chirps, hisses, growls, and whimpers as the pain shot through them as well. Ryuk, eating a dried up apple of the Shinigami Realm with Hela and Mikami almost dropped the apple and his companions cringed as well. Mello flinched, and Matt caught his arm only to almost fall himself as the pain hit him as well. Jack Neylon, a Mafia member under Mello's command that had unintentionally become the owner of a DEATH NOTE, almost fell of his perch. Armonia Justin Beyondormason leaned forward on his throne, jewels reflected greyly in the tinted light. Others felt the pain as well until every single Shinigami in the realm had their head bowed.

Then the most unexpected thing happened. A voice spoke in all their minds. It wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, but a realm-wide announcement heard by all. The voice was not a normal voice, but a combination of sounds. It was the rustle of viper scales as they slithered across dry leaves, the crackle of a newborn flame as it gnawed at tinder and grew, the clink of broken glass shards as they fell on top of each other, and the soft hissing sound as if a whetstone was being run across an axe head to sharpen its edge. The combination of sounds made everyone from Mello and Dawn to Ryuk and Hela shiver. Then the voice spoke.

 _*You have all met me*_ the voice said, sounding like all of the sounds put together, was projected directly into their minds. _*I am the creator of the DEATH NOTE and the one who made you who you were. I am your king.*_

"The Shinigami King," Armonia, the king's second in command, whispered. "He's making an announcement?"

 _*Many new Shinigami were created during this recent Kira incident*_ the Shinigami King continued to say. _*I now pass this order to all. Capture and bring all Kira fledglings to me at once. I will remove the invulnerability from the Shinigami Realm as I earlier removed it from the human world. Bring them at any cost.*_

With a sound like a crack of snapping someone's spine, the presence and pain vanished. Everyone hesitated, but the abrupt announcement was gone as soon as it began. Dawn shook her head, matted hair tossed by the movement.

"Well," Dawn said as she looked at the cloudy black sky. "That was enlightening."

Higuchi held his breath as the announcement sank in, realizing he was a Kira fledgling. He glanced at Dawn, plastering a trusting smile on his features, his mouth full of needle-like teeth reaching literally from ear to ear.

"Dawnie?" He addressed her with that smile.

Without looking away from the sky, Dawn punched him. She did not have a chance to crystallize her gauntlet, fortunate for him, but she still landed a heavy blow that threw him into the air. Instinct made him snap out his wings and saved him from a bad fall. He glanced over his shoulder and Dawn stood, dusting off her ragged clothes with a smile.

"How convenient," Dawn said with a smile. "I can finally give you a piece of my mind, Higuchi."

Panic lit his eyes as the gauntlets and greaves crystallized around Dawn's hands and feet, her wings unfurling. Dawn was smiling, and, Higuchi realized as he looked around, so were the other Shinigami. With a panicked shriek, he fled. Laughing in exhilaration, Dawn leaped off the bluff she had been sitting on and her wings snapped out as she took to the sky in pursuit.

The Shinigami King, omnipotent as he was within the boundaries of the Shinigami Realm, watched the entire realm at once as the Shinigami took to the air and bared fangs, claws, and weapons. All of the Kira fledglings that were suddenly being hunted had weapons, something most of the older Shinigami lacked, so despite being outnumbered they were able to hold their own.

It was most amusing to watch, and satisfying to the king. The fledglings had been endowed with inherit fighting skills that would complement their weapon, and they were doing much better then he thought they would. This fight was something of a warm-up, the king mused, to the real war coming up soon. They were a promising group. Once the other Shinigami finished "drafting" the fledglings – his officers – then he could really begin.

He watched as a fledgling by himself bashed his three opponents to the point where they couldn't move and flew away. This Shinigami wore a hooded black cloak that hid his form and features, the back of the cloak stretched out into a pair of long cloth wings roughly shaped like a bat's. In his hands was a giant gleaming scythe. The humans, in every definition of the word, would call him a Grim Reaper. He got away, but the King subtly redirected several nearby Shinigami to continue the chase.

This might take a while.

* * *

 _Human World_

Raven was released from police custody three hours after her arrest. They could have held her on assaulting the police officers, but the officers elected not to press charges. The two weren't eager to admit they had been thrashed by a high schooler, and they didn't see it as her fault. She had been in shock from finding the body of someone she loved and the officers had gotten in her way. It happened more often than some thought. The cops just usually didn't get throttled.

As they didn't have any evidence she was behind the death of Cody Sharp, she was regarded only as a witness and _possible_ suspect. Authorities strongly believed she was the girl mentioned in the scrawled message in the mirror Cody had left, and Raven agreed she probably was. She had given a statement and answered their questions, cooperating as much as she could in all but one regard.

The only part that she hadn't was her vehement belief that this was not a suicide, but a murder. True he came from what might be called a "broken home", but he had good grades, good friends, and a date planned with Raven for the next day. There was no way he would commit suicide. The officers said they would look into it, but Raven wasn't sure how she felt as she left the precinct.

There was a taxi waiting for her when walked outside and at her command, the driver returned to the trailer park where her car had been left. She paid the driver with her debit card and then got out. Someone was poking around her car in an attempt to get in. It was Ashton Tanner, the local punk. Raven looked at him flatly and took the car keys out of her purse. She beeped the lock on the remote for her car. The car made a noise and the thief jumped.

"May I help you?" Raven asked him in the same flat look her eyes still held.

Tanner hesitated and Raven, in a very bad mood, stalked towards him.

"Move," she ordered him.

"Why?" He asked. "How about you give me your keys?"

Raven approached him and without a word shoved a hand against his face, slamming his head against her car with a _thud_. Tanner stumbled backwards and Raven used the key fob to unlock the doors. She tossed her purse inside and sat in the driver's seat as the man approached.

"Hold on you brat," he ordered.

"Yeah right," Raven grumbled.

When he got too near, Raven drew the car door closed and then slammed it open, hitting him in the face _again_ with the doorframe. Then she stood and punched his throat, caving it in. Tanner was still standing after that, albeit wheezing, so she shifted her weight and kicked him across the face, using her anger from Cody's death to put a great deal of force behind it. Her opponent crashed to the ground, soundly unconscious. With a huff, she got back inside the car and started it.

As she drove off, she saw some of the other people in the trailer park looking outside their windows at Tanner. They were all smiling, glad he had been beaten up. Raven normally would have played to the crowd and waved, but this time she just put her car in reverse, went around the goon despite being tempted to go over him, and headed home.

Her mother, who had not been alerted to her imprisonment, was still at work. Thus, the house was locked and dark. Still numb from what had happened and somehow still able to smell blood, she got out and closed her car door, marching straight for the house. Raven would have entered immediately if something hadn't moved in the corner of her sight.

She didn't instantly see what it was that had caught her attention until she turned. Then she dropped her purse, her jaw falling open. Her reaction came from surprise this time when she saw what was struggling to sit up in the grass.

"Moon?" She whispered.

Her Shinigami had obviously been in a fight, and not one he had won judging from his state. One of his wings had almost been hacked off and his clothing was covered in some sort of black liquid. Moon looked up at his name, ember-like eyes meeting hers. Relief seemed to seep into the pain-stricken eyes as he dropped back to the ground.

Raven, ignoring the fact that no one but her could see Moon and that she would look crazy panicking over nothing, ran over and knelt by his side.

"Moon, what happened?" She demanded, not bothering to ask if he was all right since he obviously wasn't.

"Ambush," Moon rasped as Raven grabbed one of his arms and helped him sit up. "There's another Shinigami here, someone else with a DEATH NOTE."

Raven was so surprised by his words that she didn't realize she was suddenly able to touch him. "What?"

Moon nodded, reaching inside his jacket to make sure his DEATH NOTE was still there. He was relieved it hadn't been dropped onto the human world as that would forfeit his ownership of it and he needed to keep at least one. The serious look Raven had made him pause. She almost looked a little demented, and he had never seen that look before.

"Another DEATH NOTE," Raven repeated and then said softer, "Cody."

Cody? "Did something happen?"

"Cody just committed suicide," Raven filled him in as she stood, jaw locked and eyes alight with a dangerous gleam. "We had a date planned for tomorrow so I knew he wouldn't have killed himself. I just knew it! The other DEATH NOTE user must have written his name down and made his cause of death _suicide_. You said I could make a person kill themselves because all humans have the capacity for suicide. Why would anyone kill Cody though? He doesn't even know about the DEATH NOTEs."

She looked towards the house, eyes distant as she turned the possibility over. Why would someone kill Cody? Who would profit from his murder?

"The DEATH NOTE," Moon repeated, slowly struggling to his feet. "Help me get inside. I can kill some of the criminals you've been saving. That should help me."

Raven didn't answer so Moon grabbed her arm, almost dragging her to the ground when his own legs gave. She managed to catch herself and him, supporting him. The blackened blood that oozed from Moon's wounds stained her clothing and skin as she started to half-drag him towards the house.

She had to stop to unlock the front door, setting Moon down on the porch so she could fish her keys from her purse. The screen door wouldn't stay open, but Raven managed to drag Moon inside and let the door close behind them. With trouble, she managed to drop him onto the kitchen floor and then toss her purse on the counter as she went upstairs.

Her own DEATH NOTE was in its hidden nook under her bed, and with it was a small stack of paper with the names and pictures of criminals she had yet to kill. Taking only the papers, Raven hopped down the stairs back to the kitchen. Moon nearly snatched the list of names from her and took out his DEATH NOTE to copy names. She took a step back to let him write, shaking her head at Moon's uncharacteristic impatience. It wasn't as if he could die or anything.

Raven crossed her arms over her chest idly and felt something sticky on her bare forearms. She looked down and gave a start when she saw her arms and her t-shirt were covered in some sort of black substance, similar in color to oil but thick as honey with a scent similar to stagnant swamp water. Stunned, she gripped her t-shirt in her hands and looked at the stains, but they were no illusion. Slowly, Raven lowered her head to the floor. Drops of the substance led from the front door to the kitchen and a pool of it was starting to spread around Moon.

Was it blood? No, it couldn't be. Shinigami weren't mortal. They couldn't be hurt, couldn't be killed. She remembered when she had thrown her knife at him. It had gone right through his form without effect and skewered itself on the dartboard behind him. She shouldn't have been able to touch Moon to move him, Raven realized, but she had.

Moon exhaled a sigh of relief as the names he had penned in the DEATH NOTE took effect and the eight people died. His bone wings shifted and then extended to their full length, the damage to the injured wing gone. He tucked his DEATH NOTE away as he stood, using the counter for support. The wings folded onto his back out of sight.

Raven assumed the humans heh ad killed had done him good and whistled. Moon's head swung around to her.

"If you're feeling better then I suggest you leave," Raven said firmly as she took the sheets of paper from him.

Moon gave her a blank look, not understanding her intent.

"Outside," Raven explained, "you're making a mess."

She pointed to the floor and Moon gave a start just as she had when he saw the black stains on it.

"It's from you," Raven sighed as she tried to figure out how long it would take to clean up. "I think it's the equivalent of blood."

Moon looked at his clothing and then shifted his eyes to Raven. It looked like his… blood had ruined her clothing.

"Out," Raven repeated, waving the sheets at him. "I need to clean this up before my mom gets home and take a shower. Once I have this fixed, you are going to tell me everything about the second Shinigami that attacked you."

"Why?" Moon asked in an uncaring tone.

"Because his human partner is probably the one behind Cody's death."

"You're so sure that he didn't commit suicide by himself," Moon asked with a smirk.

That got under Raven's skin in an instant. "Of course I'm sure! He wouldn't do it, not now."

"Why do I get the feeling he would have killed himself earlier?" Moon asked, astonished by Raven's defensiveness.

Raven felt the heat rise to her cheeks, remembering the first time she had met Cody. She had been on her rollerblades, racing Jeremy on his skateboard. He had accidently wiped out and Raven had taken the lead. They had been on the William M Powell Bridge and she had seen him standing outside the bridge's railings. They were still close to the mainland and the sea crashed against the shore beneath him.

He had taken a step forward to let himself fall to the ocean and Raven had been just fast enough to grab his arm. Unlike her sandals, her rollerblades hadn't been able to give her a good grip and she had been half-dragged off the bridge, almost tumbling over the side with him. Jeremy had caught up at that moment and managed to grab Raven. With the aid of passerby, both Raven and he had been brought to safety.

Raven had waved it off as an accident, hiding what Cody had almost done. She would never forget the moment when she caught hold of his arm to keep him from falling and he'd looked up at her. He'd been so surprised that someone would save him, so surprised he hadn't been able believe it.

"Maybe once," Raven said grimly, "but not now. He knows that his life is as valuable as anyone else's, no matter what his father says. Now get outside. Being protective of a friend is no crime despite what you might think. Isn't that why you could be killed, Light Yagami? You'd killed or betrayed all your friends so there was no one left to help you in your time of greatest need, which is why no one helped after Matsuda shot you."

Now it was Moon's turn to stutter and flush. She was right of course, but that didn't help. He turned with something similar to a huff stalked through the wall and into the backyard. Raven brushed some of her hair behind her ear with a free hand, smirking.

She decided to head upstairs and put up the papers first. Her mother liked the fact that Kira was getting rid of the criminals and lowering the amount of patients the hospital was getting, but didn't approve of Kira killing as he saw fit. Raven didn't understand that part of her mother's thinking as _someone_ had to clean up the scum of the world, but knew the papers had to be hidden nonetheless.

Raven looked over the floor, glad the Shinigami's blood was on the tiled floor. There was carpeting in the living room and it would be impossible to get the black stains out without her mother noticing something. As she poked her head into the closet to look for a sponge mop, the blood on her arms seemed to turn red under the light. Instinct made her flinch back and she thought for a moment that it was Cody's.

It wasn't though. It was just Moon's, and although him being hurt was new it wasn't like he could actually die. He couldn't die like Cody. Raven abandoned the mop and went to the sink, turning on the water. With shaking hands, she scrubbed Moon's blood off her arm. The sight of blood had never bothered her before, so why was she shaking now?

The image of Cody's body drifted past her eyes and Raven bit her lip as she lowered her head, eyes stinging. Her hands stopped shaking. Local authorities and government were useless. If they weren't, then there would be no need for Kira, but Kira was badly needed to clean up Earth for the worthwhile humans. Kira was very busy, but he had another task now: catch the other DEATH NOTE user and make sure they paid for Cody's murder, a life for a life.

* * *

 **Do you remember Ryuk's story in chapter 18 about the history of the Shinigami? The Shinigami King used to be Archangel with seven older brothers, but turned against them. Their world, Heaven, became the desolate wasteland it now is from the war. Shinigami were made as the new angels since none of the other angels survived, but because they become angles _after they die_ they are twisted beings of death instead of entities of life. **

**The king's planning on going to war but the other angels he fought against are dead, so who's left to go to war against?**


	26. Six Days Left

The news broadcast interrupted everything else that was going on, both on TV and on radio stations. Mei Akiyama appeared on the screen and everyone paid attention as Kira's spokesperson came on the air.

"This is Mei Akiyama," she began, "and as the Voice of Kira I bring to you a message from him. Kira's enemy, Near, has used his powers and vanished."

She stopped for a moment to let the news sink in and then continued.

"He has asked me to relay this message to the humans of this world," Akiyama announced. "Kira is fighting to cleanse this world of darkness. He is protecting us, and by protecting us, his attention has become divided between us and fighting his enemy. Unwilling to abandon us to hunt down Near, he has asked that we aid him in his hunt. False information given only with the intent of earning his favor will not be tolerated, but he will accept honest leads.

"Help Kira free us from Near, his ancient enemy who killed his first emissary – Light Yagami. Help him, and yourself. Find Near. Post what you find on the internet for Kira to see. This is his request to the humans. I, his humble messenger, do tell you this."

* * *

Raven had been able to wash Moon's blood off her and change clothing into a pair of hot shorts and a blue spaghetti-sleeve tank after a quick shower. Moon sulked on the roof, having told her what she wanted to know about the dragon-like Shinigami that had attacked him. Raye Penber was back from the grave, intent on avenging his fiancée Naomi's death. He, going by the name Drake, had given no indication of who the new owner of his DEATH NOTE was. Whoever it was had to be behind Cody's death.

When Raven sat herself in front of the computer again, she opened Facebook to check on the current buzz. After Moon had told her about Drake, Raven had sent a message to Akiyama to speak. Admitting that she – that Kira – needed help to track down Near hadn't been easy, but she'd found a way to make it work. Then she'd taken a shower. By the time she was out of the shower, Akiyama had already broadcasted her message and the media was buzzing with news of it. She was an efficient spokesperson.

Raven coasted her "Kira the Savior" website where leads were trickling in, but found she didn't have the heart to look them over. She'd begin checking how valid they were later. Instead, she went did what Kira was supposed to do – kill the evil people in the world. Sinners for Kira to punish were anonymously posted to the website along with the sinner's name, picture, and a comment on what they'd done.

The rest of her sinners came from government and police records from across the world. Having a good lawyer was no longer the only thing scumbags needed to get off clean after they committed their crime. Cutting deals and snitching on your allies in hopes of a lighter sentence no longer bought breathing room. The justice system was finally working as it should and dispensing justice.

With the aid of her "virus-worm" (as Moon had called it) infiltrating Interpol and all the connected police and government networks, it was simple for her to access records of trials. Though crime levels worldwide had gone down, there were still too many trials for one person to look at, so she had her virus-worm (she really needed to give it a name) randomly selected five trials to appear on her monitor. It was so random it brought up records of cases from across the world and from all levels of court, thus each criminal case had a chance of appearing before her.

Depending on the evidence presented in the trial, not the lawyers, she might or might not kill them. She could also access prison databases and retrieve a list of inmates if she needed to in order to continue dispensing justice. Raven was never in danger of running out of people to kill, something that saddened her. It saddened her like the sight of Cody with his wrist slit.

Raven shook her head sharply, trying very hard to block that particular memory and the scent in the air that reminded her of a copper penny. She lightly slapped her palms against her cheeks and sat up stock straight in her wheeled chair. Kira couldn't afford to break down. There were cases to observe and justice to dispense. She couldn't fall apart. She needed to focus on her duties.

The list of five trials appeared and Raven clicked on the name at the top: Dillon, Jennifer. The information that filled her screen was everything that had been submitted for the trial, as well as a video copy of the hearing from various angles and a written manuscript of everything that had been said.

The charge brought against her was first-degree murder. She'd supposedly killed her ex-boyfriend's wife out of jealousy. Raven immersed herself in the evidence of the case for the next hour. According to prosecution's statement, Dillon had loved her ex-boyfriend and had been devastated when had moved on from her after their breakup and married another woman. Dillon had remained composed as she defended herself, but had broken down into tears at the end, saying she could never have killed him. The Jury, no doubt swayed by her tears as she took the stand, ruled her innocent.

Ignoring the prior verdict and the fast-talking lawyers, Raven reread the evidence. Dillon's alibi was too shaky, she decided, and she had motive to kill the woman. It also turned out that Dillon was a police officer, which gave her training in how to kill. They didn't have a confession, but it struck Raven as too much evidence to ignore.

Raven wrote the name of the woman who had gotten away with murder in the DEATH NOTE and closed her case, opening the next one. A box appeared on the monitor to Raven's left with a chime, and she glanced at it. It was from Facebook, which she'd forgotten to close. The pop up was from "Kira the Savior" website, and it included what had become Kira's chant.

 _"Kira, please save us all._

 _Kira, help us._

 _Hear our pray, we want you._

 _Kill them all._

 _Kira is our new God._

 _The world needs Kira!_

 _Leave a message to Kira, and he will help you."_

Raven didn't have the strength to smile, but was pleased to see the popup. Kira's religion might be based in Japan but the popup was in English, proof that it was spreading. Criminals nowadays believed that even if they were found guilty, which was unlikely given lawyers and their technicalities, they would almost certainly _not_ be sentenced to death. Using plea bargaining for a lighter sentence and getting out on good behavior limited what sentence they received.

She'd done some research since she'd become the guardian of a DEATH NOTE and according to sources such as CBSnews and the National Institute of Justice, 67% of all released USA prisoners were rearrested within three years and 77% rearrested within five. _57_ % of all prisoners are rearrested within _one_ year of leaving prison. Over half of the criminal population released from prison got thrown back in there that same year. They clearly hadn't learned it was wrong to commit crimes. So few of them did, and the crimes continued.

Raven thought that the current justice system's problem was that it was so intent on being humane to _murderers and rapists_ that they were willing to let everything else crumble. She wanted Earth to be safe from criminals. She wanted humanity to open their eyes to their own foolishness, but that meant changing their nature. If there was one force that could change the way humans thought it was religion. Some might call it blasphemy, but Raven saw it as an epiphany. The religion of Kira would outlive Raven's own life if everything worked out, ensuring safety long after she died. In the end, history would be Kira's only judge, and Raven intended to have Kira win.

Raven clicked on the link provided and it took her to "Kira the Savior" one of the main sites on a whim. The homepage showed a heart encircled in a wreath of roses, flanked by a pair of feather wings – Kira's symbol. The symbol was grey, the background black, and the chant in white was beneath the symbol.

Another link was above the symbol that read "First Church of Kira." Surprised, Raven stared at it for several seconds before moving her mouse and clicking on it. The name reminded her of Kira's Kingdom, a program hosted by Sakura TV about Kira. Hitoshi Demegawa had started it as a tribute to Kira but his greed for ratings, fame, and money had turned it into a scam. If something like that was going on again then Raven needed to put a stop to it as swiftly as Mikami had put a stop to Demegawa.

Light had been Kira for six years, during which time the public had taken sides. Some called Kira a murderer while others said he was "God." Half praised him for bringing criminals to justice, and half viewed Kira as a criminal who forced the world to live in fear of being killed for any perceived wrongdoing. A third smaller faction disagreed with both and said that Kira was a messenger from Hell – a Shinigami (which was ironic given the Shinigami's involvement in the Death Notes) – here to kill the evil people who were already going to Hell early. With the evil people dead, the good people that were not going to Hell wouldn't have to suffer and wait for them to die.

The First Church of Kira took the view that Kira was the God of Justice, which Raven disliked. "Messenger from Hell" sounded cooler to her then "God." There might be trouble later on when the two different factions of Kira believers clashed, and Raven admitted she needed to figure out some way to unite them to prevent a holy war or something of the like from breaking out.

She wasn't surprised to see that the First Church of Kira was in Japan on the outskirts of Tokyo. There were already temples to him just like there were temples to Buddha or one of Japan's kami. It was only a matter of time until something like this happened, and of course it would happen in Japan's Kanto region. Using Lind L Taylor as bait, L had determined that was where Kira (Light) was based. What surprised her was that she was seeing an announcement broadcasting its opening (which was scheduled for two days from now) on the other side of Earth from Japan.

"There would be people who would travel there," Raven sighed to herself and looked away.

She picked up a glass of ice water she'd set next to her desk and took a step, her throat dry and scratchy. Raven glanced back at ceramic coaster as she went to set her half-empty glass on it and froze. It was the snowflake one, with one giant white snowflake in the center and four smaller ones in the corners on a background of dark blue.

* * *

 _"You made this?" Raven asked curiously, turning over the snowflake tile she had been presented with._

 _"Yeah," Cody told her, expression cautious as he didn't know if she'd like it, "in art class. I know you always complain that you never see snow."_

 _"So you made_ this _?" Raven asked in a slightly perplexed tone, leaning back in her seat._

 _"I'm no anime artist but I can draw in straight lines," Cody shrugged, looking out at the ocean. "Luckily for me snowflakes are all straight lines."_

 _Raven didn't say anything, looking at the present. They were midway through the spring semester and had come to the Boardwalk because there wouldn't be any tourists and it would be quiet. They had been right, and had stopped at the pizzeria to grab an early dinner before heading home for the day._

 _Her silence seemed to perturb Cody for some reason and he started talking again. "I thought about getting you a snowglobe but I thought that would be too dorky."_

 _Raven couldn't suppress a soft snort. "This is no less dorky."_

 _Cody expression deflated, which made Raven smile. He was taking it too personally._

 _"I like it," she told him, "and thank you for making it for me. It's sweet of you."_

 _Any other boy might have been insulted, but Cody smiled, rubbing the back of his head as he looked away. He took it as a compliment._

 _A waitress in sandals and red appeared approached them. "Are you ready to order?"_

 _"Yes," Raven answered for Cody, slipping the tile, which she noticed could also double as a drink coaster, into her purse. "A large pizza half cheese and half pepperoni, right Cody?"_

 _"Huh?" Cody had been looking over the beach and then looked back, "yeah."_

 _The teenager, probably working during her summer break, scribbled their order on her notepad._

 _"Can we order some smoothies?" Cody asked._

 _"Sure," the teen shrugged. "What'cha want?"_

 _Raven looked at her, certain that she'd seen her before. Was she a member of their school? She doubted the waitress was an upperclassman._

 _"One lime/strawberry smoothie, and one mango, right Raven?"_

 _"Huh?" Raven was jolted form her musing about where she'd seen the waitress, "yeah."_

 _With a nod, the waitress added it to the order and walked off. Realizing that she'd said the exact same thing Cody had a minute ago, she smiled at him. He gave her a smirk, lightly kicking her under the table. They knew each other too well._

* * *

A drop of water fell onto her arm and she looked down at it curiously. Another fell onto her thigh and she raised her empty hand, touching her cheeks. When had she started crying? She swiped at the tears with the back of her hand, swallowing hard.

Hand shaking, she put the glass on the snowflake tile before she dropped it.

"Don't cry," she told herself, "don't cry. You can't cry. You have a job to do. You're Kira. You can't cry. You can't…"

A sob escaped her throat against her will and bowed her head to her chest as tears started to flow.

On the monitor beside her was the name of the High Priestess of the First Church of Kira. Raven had yet to notice who it was: Yagami Sayu.

Moon sat on the roof, looking out into the distance, unaware of Raven's cries within. He regretted Cody's death – murder if Raven was correct. He'd become Kira to protect good people like Cody. Would he never manage to make the world a safe place?

He looked at the DEATH NOTE in his lap, expression pained. Like him, Raven's primary concern was to eliminate the scum of Earth. She had different skills from him, but they blended well with his. She'd even found out L's last name, and would perhaps find the rest of his name if she had time. Time… Time was the one thing she did not have. There were only six days left until her death.

Unless he found a new guardian for her DEATH NOTE after her death he'd be forced to return to the Shinigami Realm. He was capable of being injured, of feeling pain. His actions had evidently ticked off the Shinigami King, and he didn't doubt he'd be killed if he returned to the realm. There would be no next Kira, and everything he did would have been for naught.

He would need a new DEATH NOTE guardian, but had yet to find one he really liked. It would have to be a good one as he would be stuck with them until their lifespan ran out. Who could he pick that would continue with his mission? Only one name that came to mind and he found himself inexplicably reluctant to involve her: his little sister Sayu.

* * *

 **Things may be happening in America, but it began in Japan. I haven't forgotten that. The next chapter returns there, to the beginning. The memory in the middle of the chapter takes place earlier that same year, a few months before summer and Raven's acquisition of the DEATH NOTE.**


End file.
